Dreams
by LuckyDucky20
Summary: Mulder and Scully are asked to help a small town sheriff catch a killer. Knowing that Scully will be used as bait makes Mulder uncomfortable. So do the dreams that begin to flood his mind at night. I'm not good at these, just read it if you want to!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Don't own them. Got this idea from watching too many movies on a snowy day! And the episode of "The Field Where I Died." And, as always with my stories, the is definite MSR! :) I hate posting more than one story at a time because I don't want to get my Mulders and Scullys confused, but this one will probably be a long one, so I thought that it would be better to start early. :)

* * *

"I don't like this, Scully," Fox Mulder said for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I'm not especially excited about this either, Mulder, but they need our help, and I'm who they need to help catch this guy," Dana Scully told her partner.

"I know, but I don't like knowing that you're just being used as bait," he looked over at her from the driver's seat.

"We're the professionals, Mulder. We can help them. AND they called us. Someone must think that we do a good job," she smiled back at him.

"They only called us because they needed a redhead... This isn't even an x-file!" he argued.

"Well, it's kind of an x-file. All we know is that there is a man targeting redheaded women, but no one knows how he gets in and out of houses and buildings. Maybe he can walk through walls or something?" Scully said, trying to get Mulder to like going on this case, though she believed what she had said was ridiculous.

Mulder smiled at his partner, knowing that she was trying her best to get him to like the situation. Despite the fact that he hated that Scully was being used as bait, he was happy to go on another road trip with his favorite person in the world. His partner. His best friend.

He pulled into the little motel where they were going to be staying. They went into the office and gave the receptionist their names.

"Two, separate rooms," Scully told her.

"Next to each other, with a connecting door, if at all possible," Mulder added, smiling at Scully. She rolled her eyes.

"Hmm. It's our Fall Festival week," the girl informed them. "The best I can do is give you all a suite with one common area and two bedrooms. No extra charge since you work for our fine country!" she told them, smiling as she handed Scully a slightly old-fashioned brass key.

Mulder got their bags out of the truck of the car. Scully made a move to take hers.

"I got it. Just go unlock the door," he told her.

She sighed, rolling her eyes at his macho-ness, and did as he asked.

The inside of their room was lovely! It was pink. Pink carpet. Pink couch. Pink chairs. Pink table. Pink bedrooms. Pink lamps. Pink drawers. Pink bathroom. Pink everything!

"I hate pink..." Scully muttered to Mulder as he come into the door. They went to her room first so he could drop her bag off.

"It matches your hair," he teased her, patting her on the top of her head.

She slapped his hand away. "My hair is NOT pink!" She told him, then added, "I hate you."

He chuckled, ran over to the bed, and hurled himself onto it. "No you don't! You love me! Just admit it!"

For the millionth time that day, she rolled her eyes at him. "Mulder? Get off of my bed."

"You're no fun."

"I'm not here to be fun. I'm here to help catch a murderer. What about you?"

He sighed, "Okay. Let's go over the things we know." He patted the bed for her to sit next to him.

Mulder earned another eye roll, but Scully grabbed the case file out of her suitcase and joined him on the bed. He was still sprawled out, but she sat cross-legged on a Mulder-free area next to him.

"Tina Mattingly. 27. 3rd grade teacher. Attacked in her apartment 8 days ago. He strangled her to death with his bare hands," Scully read and passed Mulder the file. "Melanie Jones," she continued, "23. High school soccer coach. Attacked in the park 5 days ago. Cause of death was drowning, but he was nice enough to not leave her body in the pond that they found her next to." She handed him that file as well. "And Stacy Clark," she went on, "34. Sheriff's secretary and cousin. Attacked in her home 3 days ago. She was stabbed to death."

"See? This is why I'm uncomfortable with you being bait!" he said, placing all 3 files next to him without reading them.

She ignored him and went on with her profile of how he chooses his victims, "All women were between the ages of 20 and 35. They all also lived alone and were single."

"Another reason I don't like this," he told her, sitting up.

"Mulder, I'm not alone. I have you," she told him, resting a hand on his arm, trying to make him feel better.

"How are you not scared?!"

She shrugged, "Maybe because you're scared enough for the both of us!"

"I'm not scared. I'm uncomfortable. I don't want to find you strangled, drowned, stabbed to death, or in any other way dead!"

"Well then, you better do a good job protecting me!" She patted his leg and hopped off of the bed. "Let's go see the sheriff."

Mulder groaned and rolled off of the bed. Scully held the door open for him, and they left the safety of their room. They, of course, were in a small town, and they could actually walk everywhere, including the police station.

"Why does it seem that all of our cases are in small towns?" Scully asked as they made their way through the town square.

"Because small towns are the best place for citizens to keep secrets. Ever read Stephen King's 'Salem's lot?"

"No. Why?"

"Didn't think you would have. It's a vampire book, but it's really about a small town that is good at keeping dirty little secrets. And those secrets destroy the town," he explained.

"Oh. Now I feel better about doing this..." she told him sarcastically.

They walked into the police station and were immediately greeted by the sheriff.

"Sheriff Tom Clark," he introduced himself, shaking their hands warmly.

"Fox Mulder, and my partner, Dana Scully."

Sheriff Clark looked Scully up and down, which, of course, made Mulder feel uncomfortable.

"You'll be perfect," he told her.

Scully gave him a faint, acknowledging smile. Her nerves were starting to kick in. What she was doing, what she was risking, was becoming very real for her.

"You'll have all of the protection we have to offer," he told her, sensing her apprehension of the situation.

"And you have me," Mulder said, putting his hand on her back. He finally stopped trying to creep her out. He realized that she was afraid, but she was doing a better job at hiding it than he was. He decided to step up to the plate and be a good partner and friend and do what needed to be done. Even if he didn't like it.

Mulder definitely didn't like the next words that came out of the sheriff's mouth. "However, we do need to lure this guy out, so we will have to ask you to make yourself appear vulnerable. So, while you will have protection, we can't be with you all of the time. And your partner may need to back off a bit, as well."

"Absolutely not!" Mulder protested.

"Mulder, if it needs to be done-"

"No," he told her. "I'm not going to leave you alone. Anywhere."

"You know that I can take care of myself. If it needs to be done to lure this guy out, then I have to do it," she told him, looking intently into his eyes so he could see that she would not waiver on this.

Mulder shook his head but shut up. Scully knew that she had won that disagreement, but that did not comfort her.

"Okay. What do I have to do?" she asked Sheriff Clark and some of the other police officers that had joined him.

"Well, nothing specific. It's our Fall Festival. Just enjoy yourself. Walk around and be seen. That's all we can ask of you right now."

Scully took a deep breath and nodded. She and Mulder walked back out into the town square.

"I'm not leaving you," he told her.

"You don't have to. Trust me, I don't want you further than a foot away from me," she replied, looking around the town.

He took her shoulders and turned her to face him, he looked her in the eyes and said, "You don't have to do this."

"Yes. I do. It's to catch a murderer. There's not a better qualified redhead!" she tried to joke.

Mulder wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

"You're far braver than I could ever be," he said and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sure that if our positions were reversed that you would be out there running around by yourself by now, and I would be a nervous wreck!"

He laughed, releasing her from their hug. "I think you're right."

"You know I'm right!" she corrected.

They made their way to the festival. Baskets of apples, tables of pumpkins, bundles of ears of corn, and home-made scarecrows were everywhere! There were many games and a few rides set up. It was like a little fair. Mulder and Scully looked at each.

"We're getting paid to play," he told her, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to a Ferris wheel.

The two of them enjoyed many other rides and games before heading back to their hotel room.

"I am _so_ worn out!" Scully complained, flopping onto the pink couch. "You're like a child," she told him.

"What?! I was just trying to take advantage of the situation! Getting paid to have fun!" he defended himself. "And you were being 'seen,' just like the fine sheriff suggested."

Mulder took two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with ice. He ran them under the facet and filled them with water. He walked over to the couch and handed a glass to Scully before joining her on the couch.

"Thanks," she said, taking a long drink of the icy goodness. "You know, it's pretty hot out there for October!"

"Yep," he agreed.

"Hey, it's your birthday in 3 hours!" she remembered.

"It is," he confirmed.

"You're getting old," she teased him.

"37 is not old!" he exclaimed, sounding affronted.

"It's almost 40!" she laughed.

"Almost. Not quite," he retorted, poking her in the ribs.

"I'm not even in my upper 30s yet!" she bragged, laughing again as his poke tickled her slightly.

"You will be soon, though. The big 3-5! Get ready, it's nothing special," he teased her.

"What do you want for your birthday? A walker?" Scully's laughter was nearly uncontrollable at this point.

"Cut it out!" he laughed.

"Do I have to call you sir?"she continued.

Mulder stuck his hand in her glass of water and flicked some into her face.

"Hey!"

"Sorry to ruin your fun, but we need to get some sleep. We're up early tomorrow," he reminded her, setting his glass down on the coffee table. He stood up and pulled her to her feet.

"'Night, Birthday Boy," she told him, heading into her room.

"'Night, Scully," he called after her.

He sighed and went into his own room. They had a lot of fun tonight, and he was dreading tomorrow. _Happy Birthday to me! Go let your best friend risk her life,_ he thought. He shook his head and settled into bed for, hopefully, a good night's sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_He walked through the magnificent building. He took in the sights. The grand staircase, the paintings, the marble floor, the extravagant statues, the chandeliers, and the fact that almost everything was gold._

_"Édouard!" he heard someone call his name. "Glad you could join us."_

_"Monsieur Vichy," he greeted his superior with a small bow._

_"None of that, Édouard. You are here as an equal. Come, join us in our box."_

_He followed Vichy and his 3 other guests to a cozy box to the right side facing the stage. _

_"Le Palais Garnier is magnificent, is in not?" Vichy engaged him in conversation._

_"It is quite splendid!" he agreed._

_"Its ballet and opera are just as splendid," Vichy informed him. "I'm so happy that you could be my guest tonight, Édouard. You have done a fine job this year and are a most promising young detective."_

_"Thank you, monsieur. I do try my best," he said humbly._

_The men were silenced as the show began. He watched the performers in amazed awe. They were all so beautiful, the voices of the singers and the movements of the dancers. He was entranced. He was lucky to have a seat so close to the stage where he could really see all of the details of the performance. _

_The act ended, and a new one began with a graceful ballet. He felt his heart skip a beat. She was beautiful. She seemed to dance on air. Her auburn curls cascading around her as she twirled. Right then he made it his goal to find her name..._

Mulder woke with a start. He glanced at the clock. It read 4:13am.

"That was the weirdest dream..." he told himself out loud.

Scully was right about it being hot for this time of year. He had kicked the covers off of himself. He got a pair of pajama pants out of his bag and pulled them on over his boxers. He then headed into the kitchen to get some water. Apparently, he wasn't the only one having a problem sleeping.

Scully was on her tippy toes, reaching for a coffee mug.

Mulder leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, amused. "Do you need help?" he asked.

His voice startled her, and she dropped the mug that she had finally gotten as she spun around in surprise. The mug broke as it hit the floor, sending shards of porcelain in all directions.

"Don't move," he told her, flipping on the light.

Mulder jogged into his room and put on his shoes. He returned quickly, and stepped into the tiny kitchen area. He picked her up as a groom does his bride, and placed her on the safety of the carpet. He returned to the kitchen, found a dustpan and a small hand held broom, and began to clean up the mess.

"I sorry, Mulder. You scared me," she explained to him from the safety of the doorway.

"Don't worry about it," he responded, dumping the shards safely into the trashcan. "Now, did you want a coffee mug?" he asked, smiling.

She nodded and returned his smile.

"Insomniacs, the pair of us," he told her, getting two mugs out of the cupboard.

"I guess," she said, leaning against the wall to watch him.

Mulder put the provided motel coffee in the maker and waited for it to brew. He leaned against the sink and looked over to study Scully. He could see the nervousness in her eyes. No wonder she couldn't sleep. It seemed that the heat had gotten to her as well. Instead of her usual matching cotton pajamas, she was down to a tank top and boy-short underwear. Mulder blushed a bit and turned away from her when he realized that she was only in her underwear.

"Happy 37th, by the way," she spoke up.

"Thanks," he replied, staring at the slowly dripping coffee.

"Do I get to spank you?" she asked, jokingly.

He laughed. "Only if you want to, but you would have to complete all 37, which might hurt your hand because I have buns of steal," he told her, not being able to help turning back to face her.

She shook her head and laughed. "Well, in that case I decline. I'll need all of my strength to potentially fight off a killer today."

Mulder's smile faded. He turned back to the coffee and poured it into the waiting mugs. "One sugar?" he asked, though he knew the answer.

"Yep. No cream," she replied, knowing that he knew.

He handed her the mug. Scully turned and headed back to her room. Mulder grabbed his mug and followed her. He sat in the pink chair next to her little pink desk. Scully settled on her bed.

"I'm going to take you out for lunch," Scully stated, before blowing into the hot mug of coffee.

Mulder took a sip of his scalding hot coffee, and smiled at her. "What about dinner? It _is_ my birthday."

"Dinner too, if you'd like."

"Breakfast?"

"Don't get too pushy," she lightheartedly warned him. "You're only 37, not 40. Maybe if you _were_ turning 40 I'd feed you all day long!"

He took another sip, amused. "Well, I guess I'll just have to settle for lunch and dinner, then."

"You will," she confirmed.

Mulder glance at her clock. It read 4:36am.

"Are you going to try to go back to sleep? You could get another two and half hours."

"Probably not. I _am_ drinking coffee, Mulder," she pointed out.

"No, you're drinking coffee-flavored water. This is the weakest coffee that I think I have ever had!"

"True," she agreed. "Well, I'm not sure that I can sleep," she told him honestly. "Are you going to go back to sleep?"

"No," he told her. "Want to watch tv?"

"Not really."

"Wanna cuddle?" he tried.

"Mulder!"

"I thought I'd try... It _is_ my birthday... Birthday cuddle?" he tried to coax her into it.

"Why in the world do you want to cuddle with me?" she asked, putting her mug on the side table and trying not to laugh.

"It would just be a friendly cuddle. I like to cuddle. You look small and cuddly. So I figured..." he trailed off when he realized that she was looking at him like he was crazy.

"Okay," she gave in. "But a PG cuddle! Don't get frisky with me. Any signs of sexual harassment and you'll be sorry!" she warned him and scooted over so he could join her in the bed.

They both laid on their sides and Mulder spooned up behind her, draping his arm over her.

"See, isn't this nice? Just a friendly cuddle," he told her.

"You really must be worried about today. I mean, you're rape-cuddling me."

"Hey! You consented," he reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah. However, you are right. This is nice," she commented.

Pretty soon the two of them couldn't help it, and they drifted back off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. This one is my baby. This is my love of a story. I do hope that you enjoy it! :)

* * *

_He entered her dressing room and crept up behind her. He quickly placed his hands over her eyes._

_"Guess who," he whispered into her ear._

_"Édouard!" the red-haired beauty exclaimed with joy. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Oh, I've missed you so much! You've been away," she pouted perfectly._

_"You know that I hate to be away from you," he told her, pulling out of her embrace, taking her hand, and placing a soft kiss upon it. "Léonie, you danced like and angel!"_

_"You're only saying that because you are infatuated with me," she told him, matter-of-factly._

_"No, I'm saying that because it's true!" he corrected. "I give you these," he handed her a piece of folded thick paper, "because I am infatuated with you." He used his best smile on her._

_"Is it a poem?" she asked, barely able to contain her excitement._

_He shrugged, "Perhaps."_

_"Why ever did you not become a writer?" she asked him, leaning against her dressing table. _

_"Ah. Because writers don't make much money, ma cherie. However, detectives, especially if you're a good one, which I am, do!" he told her, lightly tapping her nose once with his fingertip._

_"Tell me one of your stories," she begged, pulling him over to sit with her on the chaise longue._

_"I am sorry. I have no stories suitable for those delicate ears of yours!" he told her seriously._

_"Please, Édouard!" she begged once more. "You know that I live vicariously through you!"_

_"If my stories are you living vicariously, then I really must get you out of here! Maybe I can ask if Monsieur and Madame Vichy can serve as a chaperone?"_

_"Chaperone?! I'm nearly one and twenty! I don't need a chaperone!" she said, indignantly. "I'm practically an old maid by now!" she pouted._

_He smiled. "You? An old maid? Never! And what does that make me? I am nearly three years your senior," he reminded her._

_"Men are like a fine wine, they get better with age," she told him, smiling and swinging her legs back and forth impatiently. _

_He chuckled at her childlike stubbornness._

_"Please tell me a story. You said that you have been busy. There must be some great case keeping you away from me!" she pouted prettily again._

_He sighed. "__Léonie..." he began to refuse again, but one look into her clear blue eyes made him not have the strength to tell her no again. "Okay," he gave in._

_She smiled brightly, and tucked her legs underneath her skirts to get ready for his story._

_"I've been working on a strange murder case," he began reluctantly. "We are trying to catch a man who preys on innocent young girls, like you." He was still trying to scare her into asking him to stop. However, she did not ask, so he proceeded. "There have been three girls taken so far. They were all found in the surrounding areas of Paris. Dressed in virginal white dresses and seemingly sacrificed-"_

_"Sacrificed? To whom?" she asked. He could tell that she had lost some of the color that her face once had._

_"It seems to be some sort of satanic ritual or witchcraft."_

_"Satanic? Witchcraft?" her voice was quiet and dull._

_"See? I didn't want to frighten you," he said, standing up._

_"No. You haven't," she told him, grabbing onto his wrist. "That's something I should know, right? In case I need to protect myself."_

_"Protect yourself?" he questioned._

_"If this monster is targeting girls like me, I should know about it to protect myself, right?"_

_He smiled down at her. "First of all, you never leave this building. I think that you are perfectly safe here! Secondly, I'm all the protection you need! I would never let anything bad happen to you," he said, pulling her to her feet to wrap her in a warm embrace._

_"You'll always protect me, won't you?" she asked, looking up at him._

_"Always," he confirmed, kissing her forehead. "Even from yourself."_

Mulder woke with his arm still draped over Scully's sleeping form. He didn't know what should creep him out more, the fact that his dream seemed to continue on from the night, or that Scully now had a leading role as a ballet dancer named Léonie. Either way, he was disturbed. Apparently, this case was having a bigger affect on him than he thought.

He slowly and quietly peeled himself away from Scully's warm body. Doing so, however, woke her up.

"Mmm. What time is it?" she asked, sleepily.

"7:03," he answered. Then he added, "Do you want to take a shower first, or do you want me to?"

"You go ahead," she shooed him away.

"Are you sure? I mean, it will take you more time because you have to do your hair. Mine is always perfect!"

She snorted a laugh at him. "Yeah, right! You look like you have a bowl-cut right now. Please. Shower. You're sweatier anyway," she said, wiping Mulder sweat off of her arm.

"Point taken. I'm going," he got up and left the room.

"And be quick!" she called after him.

Scully ran her hands through her hair. She was really nervous about today, and she was relieved that she got him out of her room. She didn't want him to see how nervous she was. He could read her like a book! She also wanted to have time to just lay in bed for a while. She had a really weird dream, and it left her unnerved.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: You all will find out about the dreams soon enough. They are important, not just random filler stuff. Thanks for the reviews. LOVE them :)

* * *

Mulder was mindlessly flipping through the tv channels, when Scully was finally ready to go.

"I didn't think that you owned a pair of jeans!" he teased her.

She looked down at her outfit. She was wearing a pair of light colored jeans, a white tank top, and a short-sleeved button-down clover green shirt. He was dressed in a baby blue t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. Both of them wore tennis shoes- just in case they needed to run.

"I bet you're happy that you don't have to wear a suit," she said, looking him up and down.

"I would be happy to burn all of my suits," he told her honestly.

"Oh, but you look so handsome in your suits!" she shamelessly flirted with him.

"Why, thank you! Your opinion is always welcome to me; however, I would still like to never wear another suit again," he said, standing up and turning off the tv.

"I bet you're really excited now. We get paid to go to a festival, AND we don't have to wear work clothes. This is the best birthday for you ever, isn't it?"

Mulder thought for a second. "Yes, it is. But only because it started with a nice cuddle from you."

They left the room, and Mulder locked the door behind them.

"Technically, you cuddled me, but I wasn't going to point that out at the time!" she smiled up at him, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

"Well then, you owe me a cuddle!"

They made their way down the steel steps and out into the town square.

"I'm starving," he told her. "Let's go to the diner across the street."

Mulder took Scully's hand and pulled her along before she could actually respond.

They took their seats in a baby blue booth. Scully ordered a fruit oatmeal concoction, while Mulder stuck with a meat omelet and hash browns. They both ordered coffee, hoping that it was stronger than the stuff in their room. They began devouring their food, when Sheriff Clark wandered into the diner with two of his deputies.

"Well, hello, you two," he greeted them as the three men took a seat in the booth behind Scully. "I'm in luck that you all are here. We're meeting the mayor, and I would like to introduce you to him. That's all I really needed from you all this morning. No more attacks, so just be out there."

"It would be nice to meet the mayor," Scully politely told him. Mulder just nodded in agreement. "And hopefully we can catch this guy soon."

The officers ordered their food, pancakes all around, and coffee. In no time at all, another man joined them. He was tall and well built. Mulder pegged him as an ex-high school football played.

Sheriff Clark stood up to introduce the man to the agents. "This our mayor, Vance Malloy."

"How d'you do?" he said as he firmly shook their hands. "We're very relieved that the FBI was willing to help us out on this one. It's been a doozy of a case!"

"It's not a problem," Scully told him. "We're glad to help!" She gave him a convincing smile.

Mulder secretly rolled his eyes at her cheerfulness. He knew how she really felt about the situation. She felt the way he did. Uncomfortable! But he kept his mouth shut.

"We enjoyed your festival last night," she added, to be friendly.

"Thanks. It's our best time of year! Hopefully, you all can catch this guy. Tom, here, suggested shutting the festival down, and that's something I just can't do. This festival gives a lot of these folks their livelihood," Mayor Malloy explained.

"We'll do our best," Scully reassured him, glancing at Mulder, who still found his hash browns more interesting than this conversation.

"I know you'll try," he told her. He turned back to the officers and said, "Well, boys, better be off. I have a chili contest to judge! See everyone later!"

Scully paid for breakfast, then the two of them headed towards the festival.

"You know, you could have jumped in at any time to help me out," she told him.

"You were doing a fine job convincing them and being fake all by yourself," he said and smiled down at her. "It's good that you can hide your fear so easily."

"I'm not afraid I'm just uncomfortable," she quoted him.

Mulder chuckled. They walked along in comfortable silence until they came to the edge of the festival. Mulder suddenly took Scully's arm and started to pull her away from the festival and towards a wooded area.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?" she asked, confused.

"You'll see," was all he told her.

Mulder pulled Scully along, through the woods and up a hill. When they reached the top, the sight took Scully's breath away. They were above the town and could see the autumn colors of all of the trees below. Red, yellow, orange, burgundy, and still some green colored the trees into what looked like a beautiful work of art.

"This is why autumn is my favorite season," he told her.

"It's beautiful," she said. "However, it would be better if it actually felt like autumn outside. Instead, we're having a heatwave!"

"I couldn't agree more!"

Scully stood there a little longer, the quietness of the woods was very welcoming. Soon, however, she thought that she heard what sounded like running water. She left Mulder's side to go investigate. She came across a stream. She followed it, not far, to find that it turned into a waterfall that emptied in a small lake below. Now this was beautiful!

"Mulder!" she called, "Come check this out!"

Mulder was at her side in no time. Scully walked closer to the edge and looked over. It wasn't that far down. She got an idea. Scully began to unbutton her green shirt and slipped her shoes off.

"What are you doing?" he asked, but the slight sound of panic in his voice gave away that he already knew what she was going to do.

"It's hot outside. I'm going for a swim. Come on, Mr. Spontaneity! Join me."

"Scully, have you gone crazy? You don't know how deep that water is," he pointed out. "You can't just go running off of a cliff!"

She took her pants off and said, "Watch me!"

She ran and leaped off of the cliff top and plunged into the water below. Mulder peered over the edge. He glanced down at her discarded clothes, but he quickly stared back down at the water and waited for her to resurface. It was taking some time, so he guessed that the water was deep enough. Soon enough, he saw Scully float back to the top. Something wasn't right. She was laying face down in the water.

"Scully?!" he called down to her.

No answer.

"Shit..." he muttered, pulling his shirt over his head.

"Scully?" he called again, taking his shoes and pants off.

Still no answer.

Mulder hurled himself off the cliff and he plunged into the water within a second. He swam over to Scully's motionless body.

"Scully!" he exclaimed, panicking. He turned her over and brushed the hair out of her face. "Come on, Scully!"

He could feel her breathing, which was a good sign.

"Scully?" his worry-filled voice asked again.

Her eyes shot open and a small smile spread across her lips.

"Gotcha. Sucker," she said.

"You little..." Mulder quickly released her and pushed her under the water.

She came back up laughing. "I had to get you in here somehow!"

"That was not funny!"

"Of course it was," she countered.

"This water is pretty nice," he had to admit.

They swam around for a bit longer. They would have been kicked out of most normal pools for excessive 'horse-play.' Mulder spent a lot of his time picking Scully up and tossing her back into the water. They each took two more turns jumping off of the cliff. They began to feel prune-y and decided to call it a day.

***

Mulder came out of the bathroom, freshly showered.

"You owe me dinner," he told Scully, taking a seat on the couch.

"Off the couch!" she exclaimed. "You're wet!"

He shrugged and put his feet up on the coffee table.

Scully sighed at his stubbornness, but she knew the best thing to do was to ignore his behavior.

"Mayor Vance stopped by while you were in the shower. We've been invited to his Fall Festival dinner. We can go do that, or, if you want to be antisocial, we can go somewhere on our own."

"I'm not antisocial! We can go to the festival thingy. Besides, you need to be seen , right?"

"Correct," she agreed. "I feel like we've been wasting time," she confessed. "Maybe I'm not the right type of redhead..."

"If I were a psycho-killer I would definitely take you. You're definitely the right type of redhead."

"I'm not sure if you're trying to scare me or give me a compliment."

"Take it as you'd like," he shrugged and smiled at her.

"Okay, you're weird. Get dressed," she told him.

Mulder peeled himself off of the couch and smiled down at the wet spot that he left behind.

"Mulder! See! What did I tell you?!"

"Oh, you mistake me for someone who cares," he said, smiling and going into his room. "It will dry," he said over his shoulder and shut the door.

Scully sighed, exasperated, and went into her room to get ready as well.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Personal note- went to a bar called Sully's and kept accidentally calling it Scully's... it just sounded better :)

* * *

The Fall Festival dinner was set up like a picnic instead of a formal dinner. Mulder and Scully noticed that not much was formal around here. Picnic tables were set up and dressed with table clothes bearing autumn leaves and pumpkins. There was a pig on a spit being barbequed, and corn still in their husks being grilled.

Mulder was happy that this was a casual dinner. He loved his jeans and loved seeing Scully in more form fitting clothes. He noticed that she had a nice butt. He did, however, scold himself for having that thought about her. But he was a man, after all. And men usually only had one thing on their minds. Even if Scully was only his friend and partner, he still couldn't help admitting to himself that he had a little thing for her. Which was another reason that he was scared to death that something bad was going to happen to her during this case.

"Mulder, do you want the rest of this?" she offered her plate of leftover pig meat.

"Sure," he said taking her plate. He wasn't really hungry, but he knew that Scully hated being wasteful, especially when she saw the pig that died for their hunger being cooked.

As it got dark outside, a group of men started a bonfire. A country looking bad took the stage, music filled the air, and the more lively people began to dance. Mulder watched as his partner laughed with delighted amusement.

"Do you want to dance?" he offered, talking loudly over the music.

"If you want!" she replied. "It's still your birthday for a few more hours."

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the dance floor.

They made it through two and a half songs, when Mulder saw one of the deputies from the diner earlier rush up to the sheriff and begin talking frantically. The sheriff then went calmly to the other younger deputy from the diner and began to talk to him. Mulder released Scully and began to walk in their direction.

"Mulder! Hello?! What are doing?" she called after him, standing there confused.

He ignored her a walker quickly over to the small group of men.

"Not Claire!" Mulder heard the younger man cry. "How did this happen?"

"What's going on?" Mulder asked.

Sheriff Clark took him aside. "There has been another attack. One of our own this time. Claire was one of my officers. She and Tony," he indicated the young deputy, "were high school sweethearts. They were going to get married in February."

"She was the smartest person I have ever known!" Tony yelled. "There is no way that she would let her guard down like that!"

"She knew him," Mulder whispered to himself as the realization struck him.

"What was that?" Sheriff Clark asked.

"She knew him," he spoke up this time. "He said that Claire wouldn't have let her guard down. Maybe she didn't let her guard down at all. Maybe she knew her attacker."

Scully watched as Mulder talked with the local police. She didn't want to hear what they were saying. She could tell that there had been another attack, and she didn't want to hear about the gruesome details. She had failed some innocent girl. Someone else was murdered tonight. Their plan had not worked. Scully felt terrible. She felt like she had let the whole town down.

Suddenly, a clear, yet quiet voice that was distinctly male whispered in her ear, "I'm coming for you..."

Scully turned quickly around. No one was there. She spun around again. Still no one. There was no one even close enough to her to have been able to whisper anything. The band was still playing, and the crowd was noisy. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around again, spinning in a full circle. Still no one seemed to have said anything to her.

_Maybe I'm being paranoid,_ she thought. _Maybe there wasn't a voice. Or maybe this is an x-file... Mulder should be pleased._

Either way, Scully knew that if there was a voice, he was coming for her, and that little fact sent chills down her spine.

Mulder walked back over to where Scully was standing. He thought that she looked shaken and afraid.

"There's been another attack, hasn't there?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah," he told her, running a hand through his hair. "Listen, I'm going to walk you back, and then I'm going to go check out the crime scene. You know, give them some help."

"No!" she spoke up quickly, grabbing his arm. She calmed herself a bit before saying, "I want to go with you."

Mulder studied her for a second. "I don't think it's a good idea."

"I want to go with you," she said firmly, letting him know that she wouldn't be deterred.

She actually didn't _want _to go, but she _really_ didn't want to be alone.

"What's wrong?" he asked, knowing that something was wrong for her to be acting so clingy.

"I just don't feel right."

"Did something happen?" he asked, placing his hand on her low back, now extremely concerned.

"No," she shook her head. "Well, maybe. I don't know."

"So, yes... Something did happen, or else you wouldn't be so freaked out. What happened?" he demanded to know.

"I think that I heard a voice. I'm pretty sure, anyway. It was a man's voice. He whispered that he was coming for me," she explained slowly, carefully reading Mulder's changing expression.

"I think you should go home," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not going home, Mulder. Not until we catch this guy. If he is coming for me, then it will be easier to catch him."

"He just murdered a police officer, Scully. An officer who was working this case! Someone who would not have let her guard down. I don't want something bad to happen to you. I want you to go home."

"Well, I'm not going to, Mulder," she told him a second time. "I'm staying. With you. I'm going to do my job. Be bait. We'll catch him!" Scully sounded so sure that she even almost convinced herself.

Mulder reluctantly agreed and dropped the subject of her going home.

"So, did you see the man who whispered to you?" he asked, trying to change the subject slightly.

"Um, no. That's why I'm not sure that I even heard anything."

"So this is an x-file..." Mulder said, mostly to himself.

Scully smiled despite the situation. She knew that it would cheer him up a little bit to know that they had stumbled upon an actual x-file.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey y'all! They're back :)

* * *

_Her body felt sticky with sweat. She unlaced the ballet shoes from her feet and gave them a rub. She sighed and looked around her small room._

_"Léonie!" her name was called as two of her fellow dancers burst into her room._

_"What are you doing!" the black-haired one exclaimed. "The stage manager has been looking for you!"_

_"I hear that they are going to give you a line in next week's performance," the blonde girl said excitedly._

_"Or they may let you sing in the chorus!" the first girl added._

_"Why?" she__ simply asked._

_"I hear it's because one of the patrons has taken a liking to you," the blonde said, nudging __her with her elbow. _

_"What?! No," she said, slightly shocked._

_"You are a pretty girl."_

_"And you look... interesting."_

_The girls were giving her their version of compliments._

_"Besides, all that matters is that you may have a rich patron! Think of the things you could buy!" the blonde told her, with a dreamy look in her eyes.  
_

_"I don't want a rich patron."_

_"Ugh! Léonie, it's that detective, isn't it?" the black-haired girl asked, slightly exasperated._

_"He doesn't have any money!" the blonde told her before she could respond._

_She shrugged. "I don't care."_

_The girls stared at her in confusion._

_"And besides, he will have money someday. He's really good at what he does, and his boss has already promoted him twice," she added, defending the man with whom she was in love._

_"Léonie," the blonde began, taking her hands, "I know that you feel like you love this man, but do you know if he loves you? And, while you're trapped behind these walls, how do you know he doesn't already have someone else?"_

_"Someone whose dream isn't to dance, act, or sing. Someone who will be out there with him. And that's not you. Would you give up your dream to be with him? Just think about that," the other girl added._

_"We want you to be happy, but we also want you to be realistic." _

_"Do you want a man who you know you could love, but you would have give up your dreams for him? Or do you want a man who can give you your dreams, and maybe you would love him? Think logically, __Léonie. Think about what you really want. What's important."_

_"I have to go see the stage manager," she told them, standing up._

_She made her way through the dimly lit hallways and stairwells. She knocked on the wooden door and waited. A friendly looking man pulled back the door and beckoned her in._

_"Have a seat, mademoiselle."_

_"Thank you," she whispered demurely.  
_

_"I have some wonderful news for you, __Léonie. You will be on stage more frequently. Starting tomorrow, besides dancing, you will also join the chorus, and next week, I may even let you have a line of dialogue or two."_

_"Thank you, monsieur. To what do I owe this great fortune?" she asked, curious but prying. _

_"You have been working very hard, Léonie, to be the best. I am happy to reward your accomplishments. However, I would not be telling you the whole truth if I didn't also add that some of our more prestigious patrons have mentioned wanting to see more of you. I am also telling you this not because I want you to feel any added pressure, but I do want you to know that many are expecting you to put out a great performance."_

_"I will, monsieur," was all that she found she could say at the moment._

_"And don't let any of those other girls give you a hard time. I'm sure they will just be jealous, so don't listen to a word they say!" he gave her friendly advice._

_She smiled and nodded._

_"Off you go, then. You must __get enough sleep tonight. You will have a long day tomorrow!"_

___She made her trip back to her room. She settled onto her bed. She laid on her stomach and reached under the bed, pulling out a simple wooden box. She opened it and dumped the contents into her lap. Letters. There were tons of them! She began to read through some of them. Some were typical correspondence letters, some were letters of confessing love, and others, her favorite, were poems. She stared at the small pile. She had two dreams in life. Which one to choose?_

___***_

"Scully," she heard a voice whisper, and a strong hand gently shook her. "Time to get up."

She blinked her eyes a few times to get used to the light. She looked up at Mulder, who was fully dressed and standing over her.

"What time is it?" she finally asked, stretching her small body as long as it would go.

"A little after 9."

"What?!" she said, sitting straight up in bed. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Mulder shrugged. "Seemed like you needed the sleep."

"Ugh!" she groaned, mostly at herself, and flopped back down, covering her face with a pillow.

"You don't have to go, you know?" he told her softly.

"I'm going." Scully removed the pillow from her face. "Why do you all of the sudden want to go off without me? I thought that you were 'uncomfortable' with leaving me on my own?"

Mulder took a seat on the bed, facing her.

"I am, but I don't see the point in you torturing yourself over seeing the body and crime scene and thinking that you could have done something to prevent it because you couldn't have," he told her seriously. "And they do need someone to help, so I offered, and they accepted."

"You don't want me to go, do you?" she asked, looking at him.

"Not really," he answered honestly.

"Fine! I won't go," she conceded, sitting up again.

"Good," he said, standing up. "I don't want you to leave this room. And no one but me comes in!"

"No! I will not be banished to the motel room! I'm going to go outside be around a lot of people. I think that it's safer that way."

He thought about that for a second. "Okay. You have a point."

Scully smiled triumphantly.

"Let's meet at the diner around 1 for lunch. That way I won't have to try to track you down."

"Deal," she said, happy that she didn't have to stay inside all day.

"Okay, well, I'm gonna go. Be safe."

Mulder stood there silent for a second. Scully wondered what the heck he was doing. He awkwardly leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He gave her a faint smile and left the room. She could hear the door to the motel room close.

_He's so weird..._ she thought.


	7. Chapter 7

Mulder shoved his hands in his pockets as he made the short walk towards the crime scene. He thought about the dream he had last night. This time he had actually kissed her. It was weird for him because in his dreams he _was_ Édouard and Scully _was_ Léonie. So, to him, he kissed Scully in his dream last night. He didn't know exactly what all these dreams were about, but he knew that they were trying to tell him something. The only thing that he really wondered was if Scully was experiencing any weird dreams of her own. Mulder decided that he would ask her over lunch.

The sheriff and many of his officers were going over the crime scene by the time Mulder finally showed up. The body, thankfully, had been removed; however, the numerous blood stains remained.

"She was stabbed 13 times in the torso," Sheriff Clark informed Mulder.

He nodded, turning in a slow circle to take in the whole scene.

"Any suspects?" Mulder asked. "Now that it's thought that she knew her killer."

"Unfortunately, we don't have many leads. Almost everyone was at the mayor's dinner. All we have gathered is that she was clearly on her way out to join us," he explained.

"Okay," Mulder said as a delay to gather his thoughts. "He targets women between 25 and 35. They all have red hair. They are all, for the most part, single. And they live alone, which just makes them easier targets. Let's think about the profile of this... person," he used the word loosely.

"Well, he obviously has something against young redheaded women," the sheriff supplied.

"Yeah. He hates them. Think about the way he kills them. All in torturous ways. It's almost personal..." Mulder's mind was racing. He was trying to come up with more for this profile. "I think that he almost feels entitled to this."

"Entitled?" Sheriff Clark asked, clearly confused by Mulder's choice of words.

"It seems to me that he thinks his victims deserve to die."

Mulder met the scrutinizing gaze of the sheriff.

"I'm not even sure why I think that, but I do."

"Thanks, Agent Mulder... That's an odd opinion you have, but any opinion is better than none," Sheriff Clark told him, shrugging. "I'll let you look around a bit longer, then I'll take you to see Claire's body."

Mulder nodded. He walked around the small apartment, taking in all aspects of the room.

_She definitely put up a fight,_ he thought, surveying the broken lamp, shattered glass table, and other askew objects and furniture.

He took another look at the shattered table. He noticed that among the glass from the table there were two broken drinking glasses. They blended in well.

_Was she having drinks with her murderer?_

"Hey!" Mulder got the attention of the sheriff and two officers. "Come look at this. Here are two drinking glasses. Maybe she did know her killer. Well enough to have drinks with him. Try to get some prints, if at all possible."

"Well spotted," the sheriff gave him a look of thanks.

"I'm sometimes useful as an FBI agent," he lightly joked.

"They'll take care of this," he referred to his officers. "Come with me."

Mulder shuddered slightly. Examining the body was Scully's area of expertise, not his. Usually dead bodies didn't bother him, but for some reason this case was getting to him. He didn't want to dead another dead redhead. Someone who could be Scully.

Sheriff Clark pulled back the sheet. Mulder could already tell that the attack was frantic rather than well planned and executed. There were some slash marks that probably were supposed to be additional stab wounds. Most of the wounds were located on the victim's abdomen, with a few to her sides and one to her chest.

"This may be a stupid question, but did she bleed to death?" Mulder asked the coroner.

"Actually, not a stupid question, he punctured her lungs and they filled up with blood. She drowned before she could bleed to death."

"Lovely," he said, repulsed."Okay, thank you. I don't really have any extra information. Agent Scully is the specialist when it comes to the victim's body."

"Are you sure?" the sheriff asked. "You don't see anything that could help us out?"

"No, nothing that I can see now. Maybe I can bring Agent Scully back with me later?"

"Sure," the coroner replied, covering up the body.

Mulder exited the the dark cold building and was welcomed by the warm sunlight of the town. He walked through the town square and entered the diner. Scully was already there, waiting for him.

"So?" she asked once he took his seat in the booth across from her.

"I found two drinking glasses at the crime scene. I definitely think that she knew him."

"Well that narrows it down!" she said sarcastically. "This is one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else."

"At least we know that it's most likely a local person and not a stranger doing this. So, technically, we already know who it is, but we just have to figure it out."

"Mulder. That makes no sense!" Scully laughed at him. "But I get what you're trying to say," she added.

"I knew you would," he said, giving her his best smile.

She rolled her eyes. "I know you _too_ well..."

"Speaking of... I wanted to ask you something," he said, lowering his voice so only Scully could hear him.

"Yes?" she whispered back, leaning forward and smiling at this silliness.

"I've been having weird dreams. Have you been having weird dreams?"

The look that crossed her face and the fact that she sat back into the seat to stare at him better, told him that she had.

"What do you mean by weird?" she asked, trying to play off her previous reaction. She also wanted him to spill it first.

He beckoned for her to lean forward again. She obliged.

"Every night since we have been here I have had a dream where I'm some guy named Edward, or something, and I'm trying to solve a murder. I just thought that the stress of this case was getting to me, but now I think that there may be more to it than that."

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure yet. But I do think that my dreams are trying to tell me a story. They're trying to warn me of something."

"Don't be ridiculous, Mulder! They're just dreams!"

"Really? Then what have you been dreaming about? You've been the same person every night, haven't you? And I'm there, aren't I?"

Scully was quiet. He could tell that she was thinking, trying to rationalize things.

"I'm a dancer. Every night."

"Leonie?" he asked.

Scully gave him a peculiar look. "Yes..." she answered. "And, you are there. Well, once. You were in one dream."

"Edward?"

"Édouard," she corrected.

"Whatever. Scully, we have been having similar dreams. Does that not say something to you?"

"No. It creeps me out. I would like it if you would stay out of my dreams, thank you. I have to deal with you enough in real life!"

Mulder could tell that she was half joking, but she was half serious as well. He debated whether or not he should creep her out even more by telling her what he had dreamed last night. He couldn't resist.

"You know," he began, "I had another dream last night..."

"Yeah. Me too. What's your point?"

He could tell that she was uncomfortable with this topic. Probably because she couldn't rationalize it away.

"You- Leonie came to me- Édouard. You- she was no longer a dancer, but a singer, but she was worried. She told him that she thought that she was being sold to a rich man. He was scared. He kissed her..." Mulder summed up.

Scully sat there, staring at him. She looked thoughtful.

"So, basically, you're telling me that you had a dream where you kissed me?" she questioned.

"Uh... yeah. Basically."

"Uh-huh."

"But it's more than that. There's something going on that's important for us to know. What if it's a past life or something?"

"Mulder!" she exclaimed. He was frustrating her. She got up and quickly left the diner. He quickly followed her, giving an apologetic look at the waitress for them not actually ever ordering anything.

"Wait!" he easily caught up with her.

She turned on him. "Why does everything have to be some weird x-file to you? Why can't it just be a dream? A normal dream?"

"Because it's not normal, Scully!"

"_You're_ not normal," she muttered.

"I'm just saying that maybe you should pay attention to your dreams. I really think that there's a reason for them. Please. Just be open to this. Please," he begged.

She sighed and sat down on a bench. He joined her.

"This is all too weird for me," she confessed. "These dreams. Now knowing that you're having them, too. Me, putting my life in danger."

Mulder took her hand. "Do you want to go home?"

"Yes. But I'm not going to. I'm not going to give up on these people. I do think that there is a reason for all of this. I'm here, in this town, for a reason. I'm just afraid of what that reason is."

"Don't be afraid. I'm here, with you, for a reason too."

"You believe that things are meant-to-be?" it was half a question and half a statement.

"Yeah. I have to believe something, don't I?" he said, smiling and nudged her with his arm.

She smiled faintly, but the smile quickly faded. She looked up into his eyes. "What if you're right? What if I'm meant to die here."

"Don't say that. You're not."

"You don't know that..."

Mulder wrapped his arms around her. Scully rested her head against his chest.

"If that's what you really think, then we should leave."

"No," she said stubbornly. "I think I'm just being ridiculous now. You're rubbing off on me."

He chuckled and shook his head. "It's all up to you. We'll leave if you want. We'll stay if you want. Whatever you want."

"_Whatever_ I want?" she asked, looking up at him.

He looked down at her, "Yeah. Just please be nice to me. No more jumping off of cliffs."

"Let's go do something normal."

"Make-out?"

She punched him in the ribs.

"Ow! Sorry."

She decided to not verbally address that comment and changed the subject. "Want to see a movie? They have _a_ movie theater here."

"Don't know. May have to get my broken ribs checked out."

"Stop it," she told him, getting to her feet. She pulled him up. "I didn't even hit you that hard. Though, now you know what will happen if you insist on making comments like that."

"Does me wanting to kiss you make you uncomfortable?" he said, grinning down at her.

"On second thought, a movie sounds like a bad idea!" she said and started to walk. He followed beside her.

Her ignoring his comments let him know the answer to his question. He was having too much fun making her feel uncomfortable to stop, at the risk of his ribs. Plus, it got their minds off of the darker situation around them.

"No, I like the idea of being in a dark movie theater with you. There probably won't be too many people in there..."

"Will you just stop it! I _will_ hit you again," she warned.

He slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her against his side. He placed a kiss where her hairline met her forehead.

"That will do for me."

* * *

A/N: I'm going to set everyone straight on the dreams so there will be no confusion (though some confusion is good)- Mulder _is_ Édouard and Scully _is_ Léonie. Past life stuff. The dreams are important, some of it may seem like its filler, it's not. :) Now you know it's past life as a reader, but they don't as characters.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Dream makin' time! :)

* * *

_He went into her room to find that she wasn't there. Like any good detective, he began searching the room for clues. Clues of where she had gone. Clues of his suspicion. He found a wooden box under her bed. It contained everything that he had ever written to her. This made him smile. _

_He walked over to her dressing table to look at the many vases of flowers that she had already received from her new admirers. This wiped the smile from his face. He wondered if she still loved him. _

_Then he saw what he was looking for, though he wasn't looking for anything specific. A small black velvet box sat on the table. He carefully picked it up in his hands. He slowly lifted the lid. Inside the box was what he knew would be there. A ring. A very beautiful, very expensive, engagement ring. He quickly shut the lid and put the box back._

_He could feel the anger boiling inside him. Not being able to control his usually calm actions, he took one of the vases of flowers and smashed it to the floor.  
_

_"Édouard!" __Léonie__ exclaimed, coming into the room. "What are you doing?!" _

_"What's this?" he asked angrily, picking up the ring box and tossing it at her. She caught it easily._

_"It's a gift," she said quietly._

_"A gift?! I'm pretty sure that 'gift' comes with some strings attached!" he told her coldly. "Who gave it to you?"  
_

_She put the box back onto the table. "The Comte de Chevigny."_

_"I guess that means you belong to him now."_

_"I don't belong to anyone!"_

_"That ring says otherwise!"  
_

_"What do you want me to say? What do you want me to do? Do you want me to give up my dreams for you? I can't do that! I've worked too long and hard!" she told him, getting as angry as he was._

_"I'm not asking you to give up your dreams, but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't lie to me! You didn't have to tell me that you loved me just to get some extra attention."_

_"You think this is all about me getting attention, then? I wasn't lying. I do love you." She crossed her arms._

_"Well then, it would be nice if you didn't act like a little whore," he spat at her._

_She slapped him hard in the face. "How dare you! I have done nothing but wait for you! Wait for you to make enough money. Wait for you to get promoted. Wait for you! And now you treat me like this?!"_

_"I hope that the man, the Comte of wherever, who gave you that ring can make you happy. I obviously can't."_

_He swept out the door, his coat billowing behind him._

_He could feel his anger almost spilling out of him. He had to leave or else he may do something that he would really regret. He ran down the stairs and out into the night air. He ran all the way to the Pont Carrousel, which overlooked the Seine river. _

_He took a merlot colored velvet box out of his pocket and contemplated throwing in into the river. Not only his mind, but his heart stopped him. Now all he had to do was to think about how he was going to fix this mess...  
_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Dream makin' time part deux! :) Scully's turn. Her dream is more important...

* * *

_Her lungs burned as she ran through the streets. The tears of fear falling down her cheeks stung her skin in the cold air. She tried not to trip on her skirts, and she knew not to look back. Just run._

_Her little fist banged on the heavy wooden door. Thankfully, it didn't take much time for the door to open. A kindly women ushered her inside._

_"My dear! It's cold out there! Where's your cloak?" the woman scolded._

_"I-I need to see him."_

_"He's upstairs."_

_She took off up the steps before the women could actually finish he statement._

_She peered in the different rooms._

_"Édouard?!" she called._

_A fluffy brown-haired head popped out of the room on the right at the end of the hall._

_"Léonie?" he questioned, as if he didn't believe that she was there. "What's wrong?" he noticed her disheveled appearance and the tears rolling down her face._

_She shook her head and threw herself into his arms._

_"Could I get some tea up here?!" he called down to his maid. He then asked her, "How did you get here?"_

_"Ran."_

_"It's a long way!" he said, surprised._

_She nodded._

_"Have a seat," he said, leading her into his study and helping her situate herself onto the couch. He sat next to her._

_"I know who it is," she finally managed to say in between deep breaths._

_"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding confused and thoroughly worried about her condition._

_The maid brought in the tea, and he told her to shut the door behind her when she left._

_She took a large sip of the steaming tea, grateful for it's warming ability. He watched her carefully. He brushed an auburn strand of hair behind her shoulder._

_"Are you okay?" he asked, looking into her eyes, trying to read her._

_"No," she replied. "I am not okay!" _

_The tears began to form again. A few escaped quickly down her cheek. He brushed them away with his thumbs._

_"Tell me what happened."_

_"The- the Comte. He's-he's the k-killer you're l-looking for," she managed to sniffle out._

_"What?!" He stood up. "How do you know that?!"_

_"He just as well told me so!" she sobbed._

_"What did he say?" he asked, shocked. He sat back down, taking her trembling hands._

_"You were right. That gift, it was an engagement offer. And I refused him. And he said that I should be careful and reconsider, or I would end up like those murdered girls. He- he told me that he had spent enough money on me and that I belonged to him! I never accepted anything from him, though! Things just showed up! I don't even really know him!"she sobbed__. _

_He shook his head in disbelief.  
_

_"That's not all. He tried to force himself on me. I kicked him and ran. That's why I came here. Please. Protect me," she quietly begged._

_"I will," he promised, controlling his anger over the situation.  
_

_"I don't belong to him. I belong with you. I always have, and I always will," she told him and very suddenly kissed him. _

_She pressed her lips firmly to his, as if she was afraid to let go of him. When she finally did release him from her kiss, he still looked shocked and a bit worried._

_"I want you to make love to me," she confessed quietly to him._

_"Oh, __Léonie..." he sighed, smiling and shaking his head. "How about," he began, pulling a ring out of his pocket and dropping to one knee, "we get married first?"_

_She gasped in surprised delight._

_"I have loved you since the first moment I saw you. I want to be with you always. And, regarding your offer, I don't want to tarnish your good name. So, what do you say? Will you have me?"_

_He slipped the ring into the palm of her hand, as if to let her inspect it. She could see that 'E.N. & L.S.' were engraved on the inside of the ring's band.  
_

_"Of course!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. _

_He stood up, picked her up, and swung her around, placing random kisses on her lips, cheeks, and forehead. Finally, he let her slide from his arms, and her feet were firmly on the floor._

_"As for my good name, I don't care," she said, taking his hand. "I just really want to be with you."She traced his bottom lip with the thumb of her other hand._

_He smiled, picked her up groom-style, and said, "Well then..." before he carried her out the door...  
_

_

* * *

_A/N: About the dreams: they are always, obviously, from Scully or Mulder's point of view, so in this case whatever Edouard is thinking or feeling we don't really know about it. We only know what he says._  
_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Yay! A long one! And the plot thickens.... maybe.

* * *

Scully sat straight up in bed.

_Inappropriate..._ she thought.

She was now very disturbed. She glanced at her shut door, took a deep breath, and got out of bed. The clock read 6:52am. She opened her door and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

As she was drinking from her glass, her eyes wandered to Mulder's shut bedroom door.

_Completely inappropriate,_ she told herself again.

She placed the glass in the sink. She leaned against the counter, crossed her arms, and looked at his door again.

_Screw it,_ she thought, and marched straight over to his door.

Scully slowly cracked it open to see if Mulder was still asleep. She hoped that he was awake, but the light filtering into the room showed him laying on his back with his eyes closed. She opened the door further and tip-toed into the room. She quietly shut the door behind her. She made her way through the darkness and slipped into the bed. She turned onto her side, facing him, and shut her eyes, willing herself to fall back asleep.

She didn't really know why she was doing this, but she really wanted to be near him now. It comforted her.

"What brings you to my bed this morning, Agent Scully?" Mulder's voice suddenly broke through the silence of the room.

Her eyes snapped open. However, his eyes remained closed. She stared at him, not knowing what to say, until he opened his eyes and rolled onto his side to face her.

"Bad dream?" he asked, smiling.

"I don't know if 'bad' is the right word, but interesting might be a word that I would use to describe the dream I had last night. How was your dream?"

"Very bad. I would classify my dream as very bad. It kind of left me feeling a bit depressed."

"Hmm. Mine did not make me depressed, but it obviously made me not want to be alone."

"What did you dream about?" he asked, now very curious.

"You first."

"In a nutshell? They fought. He called her a whore. She slapped him. He left. I think that he went to propose to her. He had a ring. But I woke up too soon to see anything else."

"Mine was the opposite of yours. He did propose. She accepted. But more importantly, she figured out who the killer was."

"Really?"

"I think that you're right, Mulder. I think these dreams do mean something."

"You finally agree with me?"

"To a degree. I have a strong feeling that I'm meant to find the killer here. Don't ask me why. It's just a feeling."

"You sound like me," he pointed out, smiling.

She rolled her eyes. "I know."

"Anything else important in your dream?"

"No," she answered quickly, a little too quickly.

"Scully...?" he said in a tone that let her know that he knew that she was lying.

"I still owe you a cuddle," she changed the subject.

"I'll take that kiss that I've been begging for instead..." Mulder smiled.

She stared at him for a second, contemplating, before she ran her hand through his hair and let it rest on his cheek. She inched forward so that her lips were mere inches from his. She took in a breath of air and pressed her lips against his.

This was what he had been waiting for. The moment when Scully finally broke down her walls to him.

He deepened the kiss, rolling her onto her back. His torso hovered above hers.

"See, that wasn't too bad, was it?" he asked once the kiss ended.

"Not _too_ bad," she replied. "I wanted to see what it felt like to really kiss you, anyway."

"You kissed me in your dream!" he realized.

"Among other things..." she muttered.

"What things?" he said, not letting her out of this one.

"They had sex in my dream."

He stared at her, speechless.

He finally found his voice. "So, basically, you're telling me that you had a dream where you had sex with me...?" he said, using what she had said to him the day before against her.

"Ummm, basically. Yeah."

Mulder took a moment to process the information that he was just given.

"So, _you_ had the sex dream? So unfair! It would have been more beneficial for_ me_ to have had it..." He took a deep breath. "So, does that mean that you want to have sex with me?" he added hopefully.

"No!" she answered, pushing him off of her.

"Not even a little bit?"

"Mulder!" she exclaimed, getting out of the bed.

"Wait. Come back."

"I'm going to take a shower; though, apparently, you need one more than I do! A nice _cold_ shower!"

Scully left the room, leaving the door open as a hint that he needed to get up as well.

_She wants me,_ he thought, smiling to himself.

***

The weather had finally caught up with the season. It was a sunny, but cooler day than the previous ones. Like a true gentleman, Mulder had given his light jacket to Scully, who, even with her long-sleeved shirt, was still cold.

They were standing in the front yard of the murder victim's house with Sheriff Clark and three of his officers. Scully was brought to the home to take a look at the scene just in case she could see something that the five men had missed. This, of course, was against Mulder's wishes. He didn't want her to see all the blood, knowing what her fate _could_ be.

"Are you ready?" the sheriff asked.

Scully nodded and entered the home. She calmly looked around. Mulder studied her body language. Seeing nothing but her usual coolness, he scolded himself for not having more faith in her to be able to handle this. She had been through worse in the past, and he knew it. Why should this be any different. But it _was_ different. He could feel it.

"Nothing," she told them. "I don't see anything more than you all have already found. Sorry."

"Do you think that you could take a look her body? Agent Mulder told us that was your specialty," Sheriff Clark said.

"Of course. Anything to help," she said, giving them a faint smile.

The small group made their way through the town streets and to the coroner's office. They introduced Scully to the coroner, and he led her to the back room, where the body was being kept.

"Darlin', if you could could make this quick, that would be great. It would be nice to finally be able to give Claire a funeral," the coroner said, somewhat snippy, but was just being honest.

"Did you know her?" Scully asked, as she began her examination.

"Darlin', this is a small town. We all know each other. But Claire was my cousin's best friend. So, yeah. I knew her."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. If you could just do your job, darlin', and not have another one of my friends end up on my table, I would appreciate that. Besides, weren't you brought here to prevent any more murders? Maybe you should work harder next time."

Scully looked up at him, slightly shocked at his comments towards her. She had a feeling that he was slightly sexist. The fact that a woman was brought in to hopefully find something that he had missed definitely seemed to rub him the wrong way.

"You know, I could work a lot quicker if you could just stop talking," she shot back at him.

He made the motions of zipping his lips, locking them, and throwing the key away.

"Thanks." She gave him a fake smile and got back to work.

She had almost given up on finding anything here, too, until a slight indention on the woman's inner thigh caught her eye.

"What's this? Did you see this?"

The coroner peered over her shoulder.

"No," he simply said, though sounded surprised that she found something that he didn't see.

"It looks like a school ring or, maybe, a family crest or something like that. What do you think?" she asked, looking over shoulder at him.

He nodded.

Scully took a picture of the mark. She then took a small mold of the mark.

"Okay. That's all I've got! You may proceed with funeral preparations. Again, I'm sorry for you and your town. We will do our best to catch this guy."

Before he could reply she made her way back to the front of the office and back to the police officers and Mulder.

"Found something," she announced to them.

She handed the evidence to the sheriff.

"Do you recognize that?"

He shook his head. "No. What is it?"

"It looks like an impression of a ring. Something very easy to miss. It was located on her inner thigh," Scully explained.

"So, if we find the owner of this ring, we find our killer?" one of the officers asked.

"I think so," she replied.

"Well done, Agent Scully. Thanks. This is very helpful," Sheriff Clark told her.

"Anything to help."

"Well, I'll let you two get going. I'm sure you're famished. Hope you're not sick of our little diner!"

"Absolutely not! We love that little diner," Mulder spoke up, draping an arm over Scully's shoulders. "We're heading straight there. If you need us, we'll be around."

Scully smiled up at Mulder. He was always hungry! He was worse than a pregnant woman!

"Let's go, chunky," she said, lightly slapping his stomach.

"Hey! Don't do that. I gotta pee. AND I'm not chunky!" he defended himself, holding the door open for her.

They walked down the street. Just before they got to the diner, Mulder patted his pockets.

"Damn. I forgot my wallet," he told her.

He patted the pockets of his jacket, which Scully was still wearing. They were also empty.

"Can I pay you back?" he asked.

She smiled. "I didn't bring mine either. I was going to make you pay today."

"Really...?"

"How about you go ahead and order the food, I'll run back and get _your_ wallet, and I'll be back in a second."

Mulder looked uncomfortable about letting her go anywhere alone, but he _really_ had to pee and wasn't going to make it back to their room.

"Okay," he reluctantly agreed. "I'll be timing you. If you're not back in five minutes, then I'm coming after you!"

Scully rolled her eyes. "It's across the street. I doubt that it should even take five minutes."

"Okay. Okay. Go."

Mulder entered the diner. Scully jogged across the street. She made her way up the stair and to their door. She unlocked the door and ran into the room. Locating the wallet would be the hard part. She went into his room and picked up the jeans that he was wearing yesterday. She found it. Wallet, front right pocket. She ran back out, pulled the door shut behind her, and locked it.

She was making her way down the steps, when a piece of folder paper stuck under the windshield wiper of their car caught her eye. Scully looked around before slowly walking towards their car. She pulled what seemed to be a note out and held it in her hands for a second before unfolding it.

She scanned the two lines written on the paper. She quickly looked around her, spinning in a small circle. She sprinted across the street, not slowing until she was in front of the diner.

Scully entered the diner and found Mulder in what was now their usual booth. She slid into the seat next to him, which was weird because she usually sat across from him. She dropped the note on the table in front of him.

He looked at her, confused.

"Read it," she simply said.

He obeyed.

There were two sentences printed on the paper:

_We'll be together. He can't keep you from me.  
_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: LET'S GET CRAZY! Thanks SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the reviews. I HEART them!  


* * *

Scully eyed the bathroom door. Mulder had just gone in to take a shower. She heard the water turn on. She had made her decision earlier that day, in a split second.

After the note, Scully had spent the day lost in her own head. She hadn't even paid much attention to what Mulder had told her, and she usually hung on his every word. She didn't want to hear him. She didn't want him to be a reason to change her mind, even though he didn't know that a decision has been made.

Scully truly felt horrible about Claire. She felt horrible that this small town, which consisted of the most warm and welcoming citizens that she had ever met, had been put through so much horror and heartache. She couldn't get over the feeling that this was somehow all her fault. She _was_ going to catch this guy. And she knew that she had to get away from Mulder to do it.

She unlocked the door, opened it, and stepped into the cool evening air. She pulled the door shut quietly behind her. She took a deep breath and walked slowly down the steps.

The town was bathed in orange as the street lamps turned on. A few people were out and about, but not many. Scully was grateful for that.

She walked to where the Fall Festival had been taking place. Some picnic tables were still set up. She took a seat, her back to the table.

"If you want me, here I am, asshole," she said quietly to the air.

Her right hand drifted to her low back. She felt the hard handle of her gun, hidden beneath her shirt and stuffed into the back of her pants. She glanced around and prepared to wait.

A few minutes went by. No one. Nothing. She was getting a little impatient. This was not an easy decision to make, and she wanted to get this over with! Apparently, however, the killer had other plans. She wasn't going to get him out on her terms. It had to be on his.

She sighed and stood up, feeling frustration and anger rise up from within her.

Scully marched out into the middle of the road. She looked both ways. There was no sign of life.

"Here I am, you coward!" she yelled. "Come get me!"

***

Mulder stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in his jeans and a pair of socks. He was roughly rubbing the towel through his hair when he realized that Scully was missing.

"Scully?" he called.

He jogged into her room. Not there. He went to his room next. Empty too.

"Where the fu..."

Then he heard it. He could here someone yelling from outside. Mulder bolted out the door and down the steps, not sure whether or not he shut the door behind himself. He didn't care, anyway.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled, running towards Scully.

She stopped yelling and turned to look at him. He came to a stop and stood in front of her.

"Are you crazy?!" Mulder had a very panicked look on his face.

"Mulder, I'm trying to catch this guy. I can't do it with you around me all of the time," she explained, sounding so calm and sure of herself.

"No. Fuck, no! Come on," he told her, grabbing her arm and trying to pull her back to their motel.

She broke his grip. "Mulder! I have to do this."

"Scully, this is not up for discussion. We're partners. We do things together. I will not let you do this! It's crazy!"

"Mulder, how many times have I let you go off by yourself to do crazy things? Things that turned out okay."

"Scully, I'm standing out here like a redneck- no shirt, no shoes. Please, just come back with me. We'll figure something else out. I promise. But I will not let you stand out here alone. So, please don't make me stand out here with you shirtless. I'm wet. It's cold."

She crossed her arms, but looked at him like she was contemplating his offer.

"You know, I _will_ carry you back if I have to... You know I can," he added.

"Fine." Scully gave up and led the way back.

"Thank you."

"I just want you to know that I am unhappy about this," she said as they walked.

"Not as unhappy as I was when you pulled that crazy little stunt," he muttered.

She heard him but chose to ignore him.

Once they were inside, he pushed her towards the bathroom.

"Shower. Please. You smell like dirt."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"I'll be sitting right here," he flopped onto the couch, "in case you try to escape from me again."

"You sound like you're my captor, Mulder."

"I am, Scully. Now, go."

She disappeared behind the bathroom door. He heard the water turn on.

_What is wrong with her?!_ he thought, still a little freaked out by her actions.

He was good at hiding how freaked out he actually was. Mulder had never seen that kind of behavior from Scully. _She_ was the safe one, _he_ was the reckless one, and that's how it always had been. Lately, though, it seemed that their roles had been reversed. He didn't like it. He now saw how crazy he must drive her sometimes. He made a mental note to try to behave himself more often.

Scully stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in her towel. Her hair dripping wet. Mulder stood up.

"Yours or mine?" he asked.

"Yours or mine, what?" she asked, confused. She wondered if she ever knew what he was talking about sometimes.

"Your bed or mine?"

"You're not sleeping with me!" she stated firmly. "I'm not going to try to 'escape' again."

"That's nice, but I'd just be more comfortable if we slept in the same room."

"Let me guess, if I still refuse, you'll just pick my lock and come in anyway?"

"That would be about right. You're good!"

"Yours," she finally chose. "Is it okay if I get dressed alone? As much as I trust you, my dear_ partner_, I still don't want to be naked in front of you."

Mulder smiled. "I don't know... You may need me to-" he cut himself because of the look on her face. She was not in a joking mood. He ran a hand through his still damp hair. "Go on. I'll be waiting out here."

It didn't take long for the two of them to slide into Mulder's bed. He turned onto his right side. She did as well, putting her back to him. He looped an arm over her waist and pulled her against his warm body.

"You scared me," he whispered his confession in her ear. "I can't lose you."

"I know," she replied.

They both knew that she meant that they couldn't lose each other, not just him losing her.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry for any typos and grammatical errors. I do go back and read it over and over again, but I'm impatient and some stuff just slips by me! Please beat me if I commit the they're/their/there or here/ hear mistake.... ANYWAY! Would anyone like some warm and fuzzy fluff? Here ya go!

* * *

_He kissed her warm lips._

_"I'm going to be late!" she complained, though she didn't stop kissing him either._

_"Let them wait for you," he told her, kissing her again._

_"You're going to be late, too!" she warned him, stealing another kiss of her own._

_He kissed her once again and sighed._

_"Okay. Okay. Go on. I'll see you later?"_

_"You better," she answered._

_He watched with an amused smile as she scampered around his room, gathering her various clothing items._

_"Need any help?"_

_"Could you tie this?" she asked him, stepping into her skirt and turning her back to him._

_He spied the loose ribbons and began to tie them tightly. When he was finished, he turned her around and kissed her again._

_"Don't start that again," she told him, giggling._

_"Neither one of us have to go..."_

_"I'm not listening to you." She stuck her fingers in her ears._

_He kissed her again, kneeling on the bed._

_"Bye!" she said and popped one last kiss on his lips before making her escape._

_He flopped back into the bed. _

_There was a soft knock at the door._

_"Your bath is ready, monsieur," he maid told him through the door._

_"Okay! Thank you, Mariette."_

_He grabbed his robe and made his way to his bathroom. A tub of steaming water awaited him. He slid his body into the warm water. He quickly cleaned himself, wishing that he had some extra time to relax. He quickly took that wish back. He wouldn't trade one of those kisses for any extra time in life._

_Hoped out of the tub and dried himself off as quickly as possible. He ran back to his room a dressed just as quickly. He then ran down the steps and out into the street, where he carriage was waiting for him._

_His carriage passed over the Pont du Carrousel and turned left onto Rue de Rivoli. He pulled up in front of the Eglise de la Madeleine. He ran up the steps and into the church. He was meet by Monsieur and Madame Vichy._

_"Édouard!" Vichy gave him a firm handshake. "Well done on closing that case. I am so proud of you! I've talked to my man in Marseille, and they will have you immediately! With a pay raise as well."_

_"Thank you, monsieur. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for your kindness."_

_"Nonsense! You worked hard and deserve all of the happiness that you shall no doubt receive."_

_"Thank you again."_

_"You better get going."_

_He nodded and made his way through the small crowd. Everyone took their seats. He stood next to the priest ans waited. The doors parted and there stood __Léonie. His __Léonie. She looked beautiful, dressed all in white. He smiled to himself, knowing that she shouldn't really be wearing white. He was going to be her husband anyway, so it didn't really matter._

_She grinned widely at him as she made her way slowly down the aisle. She came to a stop in front of him. His eyes never left hers. He didn't hear a word that the priest had said, until he was nudged to say "I do."_

_"You may kiss your bride." Now that, he heard. He bent down to kiss his very lovely bride.  
_

_"May I present Monsieur and Madame__ Édouard Nicod!"_

_The congregation clapped, with some of his fellow detectives whooping and whistling.  
_


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: If you wanted fuzzy happiness, then this is not the chapter for you. Still very important, so you should still read it. :)

* * *

Mulder and Scully quietly ate their breakfast. Not much had been said between them, besides the fact that they had both had pretty much the exact same dream, only from their own perspectives. Scully was newly creeped-out, while Mulder was amused. His amusement had gotten him nothing but dirty looks and a silent Scully. He still insisted that it was a past life, and that they had been married, which would explain a lot of their bickering. She, of course, still refused to believe and decided to remain silent on the subject, hoping that her silence would shut him up. It had finally worked.

"Hey," he spoke up, "I'm going to run this picture of what you think is a ring over to that jewelers across the street. See if he can help us out. I'll meet you outside."

He stood up and pulled a twenty out of his wallet.

"Here," he placed it on the table in front of her. "Make sure to tip well." He gave her a smile before leaving.

_Now he leaves!_ she thought, slightly annoyed. However, she _did_ think that his over-protectiveness was kind of cute.

She finished her meal and left the twenty on the table. She smirked at her actions. He _did _say to leave a good tip...

Scully sat on the bench outside of the diner. The sun felt good on her skin while she was waiting for Mulder. He was taking a longer time than she thought he should, but it was Mulder. He always talked too much.

She stood up and smoothed out her simple black dress. She walked around in a circle around a big oak tree, dragging her fingers across the bark of the tree's trunk. Luckily, she was short enough that the branches didn't even come close to skimming the top of her head. Mulder, however, would have had a harder time. She remembered how she loved to climb trees with her brothers when she was a little girl. She contemplated doing it now, but quickly shook that thought from her mind.

"You ready?" Mulder's voice broke into her thoughts.

She looked up at him. He really was one of the most handsome men that she had ever seen. Especially with him back into one of his suits.

"Yep," she answered, taking his offered arm.

As they began to walk, she asked, "Did you find out about the ring?"

"Uh, yeah. The old man recognized it. Unfortunately, he sold it a few years ago."

"Does he remember to whom?"

"Again, unfortunately, he's not the one who sold it. His nephew sold it. His nephew also just happens to be Tony, Claire's fiance. Needless to say, we won't be getting any information from him anytime soon..."

They made their way to a little outside congregation. They stood in the back, next to one of the police officers- Mulder was sure that his name was Luke.

"It's nice of you two to come," a voice spoke up from behind them.

They turned and recognized the kind face of the town mayor, Vance Malloy.

"It's not a problem," Scully told him.

He nodded. "Thank you, again, for everything you two have been trying to do for our town. It's a shame that we keep having town get-togethers at memorial services."

They both nodded, not knowing what to say. They were used to dealing with crime scenes, but not really the aftermath of them.

Mayor Malloy gave them each a warm smile and shook Mulder's hand before leaving them.

They stayed standing at the back and watched as people took their seats in little white folding chairs. An older couple, a young man, and a teenage girl all walked up to the closed casket and each placed a hand on it.

"That's Claire's momma, daddy, and two younger siblings," Luke whispered to Mulder.

He nodded, not sure if he was thankful for the narration.

The family took their seats. The mayor said some words of sorrow and how the town had lost another one of its brightest young citizens, and in this case, one of its protectors. A few friends got up to share memories and stories about how good of a person that 'their' Claire was.

Tony, Claire's fiance, was the last to speak.

"Baby, I was counting on us being together forever. Now I'll never know what should have been," the grown man sobbed. He placed a simple gold wedding band on the casket and another one on his left ring-finger.

Scully couldn't take it. She turned and ran. She ran as fast as she could, back out to the town, and up the hill to the cliff with the waterfall, where she led Mulder on their second day there.

"Scully..." Mulder said softly, speaking up to let her know that he was there.

He had easily chased her down. He was faster than she was, after all.

She had her back to him, but she turned at the sound of his voice. She walked straight into his arms, wrapping her arms firmly around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her, as well.

"We don't deal with this," she explained to him, her head buried in his chest. "We don't deal with the family and the loved ones. We take care of the crime, not the people it left behind."

"I know," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

He didn't think that this was the right moment, but he couldn't stand it anymore. He took her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumbs, and lowered his lips to meet hers. To his surprise, she moved her arms to wrap them tightly around his neck, pulling him closer. They stopped kissing for a split second, in order to breathe, and then she attacked his lips with hers. He could feel how emotional she was through the kiss, he could taste her salty tears. She was holding onto him like she was afraid to let go.

Mulder was the one who broke the kiss. He had to say what was on his mind.

"Sit down with me," he told her, flopping onto the grass, taking her hand, and pulling her down with him.

He sat cross-legged, as did she. She scooted as close to him as possible without actually being in his lap. He took her hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"Scully," he began after taking a deep breath, "we watched Tony speak about the person that he loved most in this world, and about how he lost her. But that doesn't have to happen to me because the person that I love most in the world is sitting right here, next to me. I love you. I will not lose you. I know that I'm a selfish person, but when it comes to you I will do anything to keep you safe. I will do anything to be with you. I need you."

"We need each other," she corrected him. "I hate this feeling of weakness- helplessness. You give me strength. Though, I'm not sure that I can do anything anymore without you by my side."

"Scully," he said, running the back of his hand over her damp cheek. "I have something to show you."

"What?" she asked, wiping her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hand and waiting for his answer.

He took her right hand (he didn't want to freak her out any more than she already seemed to be) and slid a ring onto her ring finger.

"Do you recognize that?"

She looked down. It was a ring that looked just like the one Édouard gave Léonie in her dream. She looked back up at Mulder, speechless. She pulled off the ring to inspect the inside. Sure enough, there they were. The initials 'E.N. & L.S.' She looked up at Mulder again, even more speechless.

"It was at the jewelers," he explained.

"You- Why- You-" Scully couldn't find her words.

"I guess it was something like fate," he told her, smiling. "Do you still not believe in past lives?"

"Did you- I mean- how did-" Scully still couldn't speak properly.

"I bought it. Thought that you would like to have it. Plus, it proved that I was right."

"That's what took you so long," she finally managed to say.

"_That's_ what you have to say?! Not 'Mulder, you're always right' or 'Mulder, I'm sorry for ever doubting you'?"

"Mulder..."

"I think that this also proves that we're meant to be together, Scully."

"This is a lot for me to process... Added to what I was already feeling..." Scully looked back down at the ring. She slipped it back onto her right ring-finger. It fit perfectly, of course.

"What _are_ you feeling?" he asked.

Scully looked up at Mulder and shook her head, fighting back more tears.

"Tell me," he said softly, taking her face in his hands and grazing his lips against hers.

"I can't. I can't even think of the right words to say... I just... My heart hurts," was all she could get out before the tears started again.

"Why?!" he whispered, slightly shocked at this revelation.

"Because! I failed that poor man! It's unfair for me to be sitting here with you, when he has lost the love of his life. And, _I'm _selfish, Mulder, because all I can think about is how lucky I am that I still have you and that I would never give you up. Never. Not for anyone. And I _want_ to leave, Mulder. To run away, so that I can keep you with me and not put us through this, but I know that's wrong. And I-I-" Scully couldn't finish her thought before the sobs took over again.

Mulder pulled her into his chest. He wished that he could take some of her pain away.

"It's okay to be selfish sometimes, Scully," he told her. "But we're not going to leave. I know that leaving would tear you up inside even more in the long run. I know from experience the regret of not doing the right thing for all involved, not just yourself. You always do the right thing. Whereas, I always do the right thing for me."

"You're not _that_ bad, Mulder," she said into his now tear-stained shirt.

"Am I not? Though, you haven't denied me being selfish..."

"Oh, you're selfish," she murmured. "But you are always so sure of what you want, that I don't have the heart to stop you."

"Well, thank you. All _my_ heart wants is you, and I know you won't stop me in that!" Mulder kissed the top of her head.

"Never."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So... YAY for MSR! :) Thanks for reviewing! Time for more creepiness!

* * *

Scully pulled her dress on over her head. She zipped up the side of her dress, and she checked her reflection in the mirror.

"That was a good use of our afternoon," Mulder commented from his bed. He was still laying naked under the sheets.

"Get up! We have to actually work now..."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure what we just did _was_ work. I, actually, think that that was the hardest that I have ever worked in my whole life!" he told her, smiling mischievously.

"Really?! That's just sad, then. It didn't appear to me that you were working very hard at all..." she returned his smile with one of her own.

"Now, I know you're lying. I was there for the reaction you just had..."

"Okay! Stop it! Get up. Get dressed. And let's go!" she ordered.

"Yes, mam!"

Mulder hopped out of bed and grabbed his clothes.

"Do I really have to put the suit back on?"

"Wear what you want, but I'm not changing. So I can be overdressed, if you like."

"To me, you're always overdressed..."

"Mulder!" she complained. "Just put clothes on!"

He obeyed her request, dropped the suit, and grabbed his jeans from yesterday off of the chair and pulled them on. He then dug through a pile of clothes that had been dumped onto the floor. He grabbed a gray t-shirt and pulled it over his head. He shoved his feet into a pair of socks and then into his tennis shoes.

"Ready!" he happily announced.

Before they left the room he grabbed a light-weight baby blue sweater to take along just in case either one of them, but mostly Scully, got cold. He knew she most likely would.

Once they were outside again, they noticed that the weather had drastically changed. There were black clouds in the distance, and the wind had picked up. There was definitely a storm on the way.

Mulder held the door open for Scully as they entered the police station.

"I'm happy you two could come over," Sheriff Clark greeted them. "Something has been bothering me about this case."

"What_ isn't_ bothersome about this case," Scully muttered. Mulder nudged her.

"Well, that's true, Agent Scully," he said, leading them to a small conference room in the back.

The room had all four of the murder victims' driver's license pictures tacked to a corkboard. They were placed in the order that they had died, from Tina to Claire. Crime photos were tacked up underneath the girls' formal pictures. Scully shuddered a bit at the crime photos. Mulder placed his hand on her back, now purely a reflex.

"In my opinion not only do the victims have something in common, but these murders all have one thing in common. They are extravagantly violent. That bugs me. They were not raped, and nothing was taken from any of these women, besides their lives. So, my question is: What's the point? Why is he doing this?"

"Sometimes there's not a clear reason. I think the fact that they were all young and redheaded probably triggered something in him. He most likely, obviously, has something against this type of woman. Maybe a mother issue or something?" Mulder speculated.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Scully.

"What made you call the FBI?" she asked.

"We don't have the type of experience to handle a serial killer. We needed help," Sheriff Clark answered.

Scully walked over to the corkboard and stared at the pictures. The Sheriff was right. These crimes were overly violent. Just the type of thing that the FBI would handle, even if the Sheriff and his officers were experienced enough to handle it on their own.

Scully turned around to face the men. "I think that these murders were meant to bring us here."

Mulder gave her an odd look. "Yeah, we're here to investigate these murders..."

"What I mean, Mulder, is that someone wanted us- or me- here, so they went around and brutally murdered redheaded women, knowing that the FBI would be contacted to come investigate. These innocent women were just a means to an end."

Mulder still looked at her like she was crazy. "How would someone know that the FBI would choose you to investigate?"

"Who's idea was it to ask for a redheaded agent?" Scully asked the sheriff.

"Mine," he told them, looking very confused.

Scully steadied him for a minute. She didn't think that the sheriff was the killer, but she wondered if someone had slipped the idea into his head without him really knowing it.

"Did anyone suggest the idea to contact me to you? Or was anyone overly supportive about the idea?"

"It was my idea. Everyone was really supportive. I wouldn't say anyone was 'overly supportive' about it."

"No offense, Scully, but I think that you're wrong about this."

She fixed her serious gaze on Mulder. "You have your opinions, I have mine."

"I'm not really sure about what you're trying to get at, but I'm going to have to agree with Agent Mulder."

"Again, I respect your opinions, but I'm sticking to mine."

"Anyway," Mulder began, turning to the sheriff, putting his back to Scully, "what would you like for us to do?"

"I'm going to speak to the coroner again," Scully spoke up. "I want to ask him about the other autopsies."

"That would be helpful," Sheriff Clark told her. "I'll send Luke with you." He turned back to Mulder, "I'd like for us to go over these pictures again."

Mulder nodded, though he didn't like the idea of Scully being somewhere he couldn't keep his eyes on her.

"I'll be fine," she whispered to him, patting his hand after she had noticed the look on his face.

"Luke!" the sheriff called out the door. "I want you to take Agent Scully to see the coroner."

"Will do, sir!"

Luke was an attractive young man of about 23. He looked like he belonged on a beach somewhere. His skin was tanned, and he had blond hair and blue eyes.

Once Scully and Luke were outside, they wished that they were back inside. It had started to lightly rain, but the wind was cold and whipped Scully's hair around her face.

"What's it like to be in the FBI?" he asked her as they made the walk across the small town square, trying to keep their minds off of the bad weather.

"Kind of crazy, to be honest," she replied, pushing her hair back.

"It's something that I've thought about, but I'm not sure if I would be ready to live in a big city."

"I think that you would be surprised of how easy you could adjust."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I'm a simple country boy. I love pick-up trucks, country music, and beer!"

She laughed. "I think Mulder does too, he would just never admit it!"

They weren't even halfway across the deserted town square when a man emerged from behind a tree, closest to Scully. Scully froze, grabbing Luke's arm. The man was dressed in all black with his head and face covered by a black ski mask. It was him. Scully knew it. This was the moment that she had been waiting for. She was thankful that Mulder wasn't there so she wouldn't have to worry about him.

Luke drew is gun and pointed it at the man.

"Take the mask off!" he ordered.

The man ignored Luke. His eyes were locked with Scully's. He was familiar to her. She thought of all of the people she had met, trying to place him. She couldn't do it.

"Come with me," the man said to Scully, extending his hand.

Scully looked at it, contemplating for a second whether or not to accept the offer. However, she felt herself shake her head no.

"Take your mask off and step back!" Luke ordered again with his gun aimed at the man.

Scully mentally scolded herself. She had forgotten her gun. It was laying on the desk in Mulder's bedroom.

Luke stepped in front of Scully.

"Take your-"

Luke was cut off as the man suddenly lunged forward and slashed his arm with a knife that he had obviously kept hidden. Blood began to spurt out from the wound. Scully knew that the man had hit an artery. She knew that she should do something, but she couldn't move. The man peered at her over Luke's head.

"Run!" Luke yelled at her, waking her from her shocked state.

Scully obeyed. She turned and sprinted back to the police station. She heard gun shots and the sound of foot steps running behind her. She didn't look back. She reached the glass door, pulled it open, and flung herself inside. Only then did she turn around. The man in the mask stood a mere twenty feet away, staring through the glass at her.

"Help!" Scully yelled. "Help me!"

At that, he then turned and ran back into the woods. Scully pushed the door open, three officers following her out into the rain.

"He went that way," she told them, pointing towards the woods. She knew that she couldn't go after him unarmed. "He's armed," she warned them.

They quickly disappeared behind the trees. She stared after them, hoping that they would be successful. Suddenly, she felt two strong hands on her arms, turning her around.

"Scully!" Mulder exclaimed, looking her over. "Are you okay?"

Panic was written on his face. His hands roamed over the front of her torso and arms, as if he was searching for something. She slapped his hands away, embarrassed that he was touching her chest in public.

"What are you doing?!" she asked him, very confused.

"You're covered in blood," he told her.

For the first time she looked down at herself. He was right. She was practically covered in blood. Scully looked up at Mulder and then down the road. She took off sprinting. Mulder, of course, followed. She came to a stop at a lump in the street. Mulder recognized the lump as Luke. Scully dropped to her knees next to the body. It didn't take long to see that he was dead. There was a gunshot wound to his head. He gun was gone. Scully covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

Mulder dropped down next to her. He gathered her into his arms and got to his feet. Sheriff Clark and a few of his officers were walking towards them.

"Sorry," he told them softly. "He's dead."

Mulder then walked past them, carrying Scully back to there motel room. She had had enough excitement for one day. At the very least, he needed to get her cleaned up. He knew, however, that she would need more than that. Just when she was starting to get back to her old self, this had to happen. Mulder was seriously thinking about packing their things and leaving in the morning. He would have the FBI send other agents. He knew that Scully couldn't handle this anymore. Heck, _he_ couldn't handle it anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Just like the title of the story says, here's another dream... :)

* * *

_He was walking on the beach, happily soaking in the sunshine._

_"Édouard!" he could hear __Léonie calling to him from the balcony of their home. "Come inside! It's almost time for dinner!"_

_He smiled and threw a rock into the sea. He wiped his sand covered hands off against his trousers. He straightened his pistol in its holster. It had almost fallen out and into the ocean earlier that day._

_ He ran up to the banister that ran along their beach-side patio, gripped it tightly, and pulled himself up and over it._

_"Hello, my darling!" he greeted her, entering through the patio doors. He promptly planted a kiss on her lips._

_"You smell like fish!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose. "Were you talking with those fishermen again?"_

_"You caught me!" he said, smiling and holding his hands up. _

_He took a seat across from her, grabbing a piece of the baguette from off of the table. _

_"What are you doing with them?"_

_He shrugged._

_"Édouard!"_

_"I might be thinking about getting us a boat..." he confessed, looking across the table at her.  
_

_Léonie smirked. "That's a good idea," she told him._

_He cocked his head to one side. "Now, you know that's not the reaction that I was expecting..."_

_"Well, I think that it would be good to have a little boat. Just in case you want to take our son or daughter out fishing..."_

_He sat up straighter. "Are you trying to tell me something?"_

_"Indeed, I am!" she said, grinning._

_He stood up quickly, knocking his chair to the floor. "You're pregnant?!"_

_"Yes. I am."_

_He rushed over to her, picked her up, and spun her around. He then grabbed her hand and dragged her out into their foyer._

_"I'm going to be a papa!" he announced loudly to his servants. _

_Some of them laughed, some of them cheered, but Mariette, his maid who had been with them the longest, began to weep out of pure happiness._

_"Good thing we have that extra room," he commented to his lovely wife as they went back into the dinning room.  
_

_"Good thing," she agreed. "You must finish your dinner now. Sit."_

_"Of course, my love. And I'm sure you're starving, since you're eating for two."_

_"Actually, just the opposite. I feel quite sick most of the time," she informed him._

_"How about you take a little walk on the beach. Get some air, and I'll be out to join you soon."_

_"I love you," she told him, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him._

_"I adore you," he countered, kissing her back._

_"You better!" _

_She laughed, and went through the open patio doors. _

_He ate as quickly as possible, not wanting to waste one second on time not spent with her. He grabbed half of the baguette and headed out the door. His eyes searched the sunny beach. He saw her a little ways down, heading towards the boats. _

_He hurled himself over the banister and jogged towards her. He could see a strange man approach her. He didn't like that, so he started to run. He heard her scream. He pulled his gun out and shot at the man, hitting him. The man stumbled to the ground, taking __Léonie with him._

_When he reached her, he could see blood on the ground._

_"Help," she whispered._

_He pulled the man off of her. To his utter surprise, the man was no stranger at all. It was the Comte de Chevigny. The weakened man was holding a bloodied knife. He didn't think, he shot the man in the head, killing him instantly. The Comte's body fell lifelessly to the ground._

_"__Léonie," he whispered, dropping to his knees next to her. _

_He noticed that her thin white summer dress was covered in blood. There were stab wounds to her stomach._

_"Édouard, I'm scared," she whispered._

_"Hush, now. You'll be okay," he told her, knowing that he was lying to her._

_He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up just slightly.  
_

_"Promise me that we'll be together again," she begged as hot tears ran down her cheeks._

_"We will," he assured her. "I'm sorry that I failed you this time, but I promise that I will never fail you again."_

_"You have never failed me. I'm happy with my life. If I had the choice, to choose between loving you and living, I would choose you every time."  
_

_"Me too," he told her, trying miserably to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. He didn't want her to see him cry. That would really scare her. "Please, don't leave me," he begged, the traitorous tears running down his face.  
_

_"Édouard," she quietly whispered, "I'm so sorry for leaving you. Please forgive..."_

_She was dead. He held her lifeless body to his and sobbed. His whole life was gone. _

_

* * *

_A/N: SURPRISE! Sorry that I didn't warn you all that this was going to be depressing! :(_  
_


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry for killing Leonie... However, that was during France's Belle Epoque, she would be dead anyway! I can neither confirm nor deny the demise of Dana Scully by the end of this story :) HUGS! Thanks a ton for the reviews. And, yeah, what_ is_ wrong with us fan fiction writers today?! I better get my act together ;) Maybe you all will like this chapter better... At least it's long one!

* * *

Mulder woke up covered in sweat.

_That sucks..._ he thought.

He could feel the tears on his face, as if he had been the one crying over Leonie. He glanced over at Scully's sleeping form. She seemed okay. No bad dreams there.

Mulder slowly and quietly pushed himself out of bed. He grabbed his boxers off of the floor, pulled them on, and quickly tip-toed out of the room. He made his way through the dark to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and held it under the facet, filling it with cold water.

"I wish this was beer," he told himself. "Fuck, I need a shot after _that_ dream!"

He leaned against the counter and chugged the water. He filled the glass again and chugged down another cool helping of water. He set the glass down and made his way to the couch. Luckily, they had pretty much striped down Scully's bed last night and all of the contents were now on the couch. Mulder burrowed into the covers, remembering how he cuddled Scully last night as they watched stupid, but funny, movies to take their minds off of more sinister things.

Mulder stared at the ceiling. He knew that sleep would not find him again tonight. He debated whether or not he should start packing their things. He had made his mind up last night after he had to give Scully a shower to get Luke's blood off of her body and out of her hair. She, of course, was standing there like a ghost, silent and unresponsive, while he washed her body and hair. The thought made him run a had through his own, still damp, hair.

This case had messed with her mind. He wasn't sure how he was going to fix it, but he was going to try his best. It broke his heart to see how affected she was by all of this. He felt like an asshole for not feeling affected at all. They only thing that affected him was her. How _she_ felt. And after that dream there was no way that they were going to stay here another day.

A piercing scream came from his bedroom. Mulder was up and back in the room in a flash.

"Scully!" he said her name loudly and shook her, trying wake her from her nightmare. He had an idea what it was about.

Suddenly, her small fist met with his cheekbone. She flailed to try to push him away. The punch ached, but he refused to be pushed away.

"Scully!" he said her name again, this time holding her arms to her sides.

Her eyes shot open. He could see immediately the fear in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. He released her arms, only to have them thrown around his neck.

"Mulder!" she exclaimed, relieved.

Scully kissed him firmly on the lips. Not breaking the kiss, he maneuvered so that they were both laying on their sides facing each other. He ran a hand through her damp hair, letting it come to a rest at the back of her head.

When they broke their kiss, Scully was the first to speak.

"I was always told that you weren't suppose to die in your dreams..."

"I know," was all he could reply.

"Did you have the same dream?"

He nodded.

"Did Chevigny look familiar to you?" she asked; however, the question was leading, as if she now knew something that he didn't.

A look of thoughtfulness spread across his handsome face.

"Not really," he finally replied.

"Hmm," was all she said.

"You know something."

"I do."

"What?"

"I'm trying to think of what to do with this knowledge..."

"Tell me."

"You still want to leave?"

"Yes."

"What if I told you that the killer is Chevigny?"

"Impossible."

Their roles were reversed. Scully the believer, Mulder the skeptic.

"I believe you," she told him, pressing her lips to his. "I believe, now, that our dreams were real. That they were our past lives. What if we're not the only ones having them?"

"Will you just tell me?!" he said frustrated, but he gave her a smile, letting her know that he wasn't angry.

She smiled back, shaking her head.

"You do this to me all of the time. It's my turn now. He's not going anywhere anyway..."

"Who?" he tried.

"Mulder, just listen to me. I really think that I'm right about the murders being done to bring us here, not that we're here just to investigate. I don't think he wants to kill me. I just think he_ wants_ me."

Mulder wasn't sure if that was actually a better fate.

"When I was with Luke, he extended his hand to me, almost gently. He just wanted me to come with him. To choose him. He didn't try to kill me."

"He chased you," Mulder pointed out.

"Yeah, because he meant to take me. Not to kill me."

"I'm not sure... Why are you suddenly changing your mind about this?"

"My dream," she simply said.

"Your dream?"

"Yes. You only saw through Edouard's eyes. I saw through Leonie's. You never heard anything that Chevigny ever told her."

"What did he tell her, then?"

"He wanted her to come with him. Only when she told him that she was married to Edouard and pregnant did he stab her. He told her that _they_ would be together again. That he would come for her. And that's what the killer has been telling me. That he would come for me, not that he was going to kill me."

"But he still might want to kill you, Scully."

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

Mulder stared at her in disbelief. Last night she was falling apart. When he woke her up she seemed terrified. Now she seemed almost happy. It kind of creeped him out.

_They call me Spooky..._

"I think it's time that I pay a visit to my secret admirer."

"I think not!"

"Mulder, I don't think that he will do anything if I act like I'm just asking him some questions, and that I don't know he's the killer."

"If you know who it is, then why don't we all go and arrest him. Together. Everyone. Though, maybe you shouldn't even go."

"Mulder..." she sighed, gently slapping his arm. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Me?! Ridiculous?! You're the one who wants to walk calmly into certain death!"

"I've already told you. He doesn't want to kill me. Besides, we don't have any actual proof that he_ is_ our killer. I don't think that our dreams will hold up in court!"

"Okay, then, what's your great plan that I know I won't let you actually do?"

Scully rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't roll your eyes at me! I'm not going to let you do anything stupid and reckless."

"I think that I should go ask him some questions and see if he's wearing the ring that left a mark on Claire. If so, I'll arrest him before he knows anything is going on."

"If not?"

"Well, I was hoping that you could help me come up with something..."

"Ha! Not a chance. I like my plan. I'll get Sheriff Clark- unless it is the sheriff?"

"No. Not Sheriff Clark."

"Then I'll get Sheriff Clark and his whole police force, go to this guy's house, and arrest him."

"Arrest him for what? You know, since you don't actually have any proof? And trust me, you'll need proof to even convince the sheriff to go along with you."

Mulder let out and exasperated sigh. She was beating him in their little argument, and he didn't like it.

"I will not let you go alone," he told her, giving in to her plan.

She smiled, knowing that she had won. "I have to."

"You do not have to!"

"You'll intimidate him, Edouard," she said, tapping his chest with her pointer finger. "However, I think that he may even slip up and tell Leonie something," she added, indicating herself.

"I will not let you go alone," he repeated.

"Fine," she conceded.

"Good," he said as happily as he could, and then kissed her lips. He pulled back and asked, "Now, will you finally tell me who we are going to visit today?"

"Mayor Vance Malloy," she answered.

Mulder didn't look as surprised as Scully thought he would. However, he did look as if his mind was racing, trying to fit everything that they had learned over the past few days together.

"But he was at the Fall Festival Dinner when Claire was murdered."

"Was he?"

"I suppose she could have been murdered earlier... But he spoke at her memorial service."

"Yep. That just makes him an even crueler person than he already is."

"Another reason why I refuse to let you leave my sight!"

Mulder kissed her again, rolling himself on top of her.

"It's only about 6am..." he began. "What shall we do to pass the time until the rest of the world wakes up with us?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

She laughed. "Well, I know what _you_ want to do..."

His face took on a mixture of a mock innocent/shocked expression.

"Whatever could you mean?! I asked _you_ what you wanted to do. Our morning activity is up to you..."

His face broke, and he smiled mischievously. Scully rolled her eyes, but she kissed him deeply, sensually, letting him know exactly what she wanted to do.

***

Mulder was in the shower, taking a proper one rather than the rinse that he had last night. Scully dried her hair since it had still been wet from the night before. She got dressed in one of her more professional outfits. A black pantsuit with a green turtleneck lightweight sweater. She picked up her FBI ID and gun. She glanced at the closed bathroom door. Hearing that the shower was still on, she scribbled a note to Mulder and headed out the door. She knew that he was going to be so very angry with her, but she had meant what she had said about him intimidating Malloy. She desperately didn't want him to go. She was sure that Malloy would not hurt her, and she needed him to talk to her. To hopefully slip up and say something useful. It was their only hope.

Mulder stepped out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel (not really sure if it was his or Scully's), and walked out of the bathroom. He went into his bedroom, expecting Scully to be there. He looked around, knowing that something wasn't right. He spotted a note on the desk. The handwriting was hers.

_Mulder-  
Gone ahead without you. I need some time to try to get a confession, or SOMETHING! Please don't be angry. See you soon!  
Love,  
Your Scully_

He knew that she had signed the note 'Your Scully' to soften him. It didn't work. He wasn't angry. He was furious. He crumpled the note up and threw it at the bed. He felt slightly betrayed. For the first time ever- well, except for maybe the time that she shot him- he thought the word _bitch_ to describe his feelings for her. Why did she do this to him?

_Run off now, Mulder. Go and save Scully, AGAIN! _he thought begrudgingly.

He put on his suit as quickly as possible. He was out the door in no time at all. The only problem he had was that he didn't know how long Scully had been gone. She could be dead already for all he knew. Though, he tried not to think about it.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Mulder does need to get his act together, doesn't he? Silly boy! Thanks for the reviews! LOVE them! Hope you enjoy this one! :)

* * *

Scully waited patiently on the front porch of the mayor's home. She had knocked firmly on the door. Loud enough for him to hear, but not too loud to cause any alarm.

A smile spread across Mayor Vance Malloy's lips when he pulled the door open to find Agent Dana Scully standing there.

"What a pleasant surprise."

"Hello, Mayor Malloy. You may remember me. I'm Agent Dana Scully-"

"Of course I remember you! Come on in! Would you like some tea or coffee?"

"No, that's okay. I just have some questions to ask you."

"Well, you can ask me over some tea or coffee. It's the least I could do for you helping out our little town."

"Uh, sure, then. Tea would be nice."

Scully had a feeling that he wouldn't back down with his tea/coffee offer. She wanted to appear nice and non-confrontational. So, she reluctantly followed him into his kitchen.

"Have a seat," he said, gesturing to his kitchen table surrounded by six chairs.

"I prefer to stand. Thanks, though."

Scully tried to see if he had a ring on any of his fingers. So far, the fingers that she could see were ring-less. The others were too busy in order for her to get a good look. When he handed her a cup of tea, however, her heart stopped. He was wearing the ring.

"So, what did you want to know?"

She looked up at him and forced a smile, hoping that he didn't notice. She took a sip of tea to help hide her sudden nervousness.

"Well," she began, taking another sip of the tea, "I thought that since you're the mayor, and you seem to know everyone pretty well, that you might be able to tell me more about these women. Did they all belong to the same gym or church group? Maybe a book club? Hopefully, anything you can tell me will give me some clue on why they were chosen."

Malloy put his mug of coffee down and looked thoughtful. Scully drank more of her tea and waited for his answer.

"Well, you know, I do think that two of the women belonged to a book club, but not all of them."

Malloy kept talking, but Scully wasn't really paying attention. She was trying to figure out the best way to make the arrest. She kind of wished that she had waited for Mulder. Malloy was about six foot, 190 lbs. There was no way she would beat him if he put up a struggle.

Suddenly, Scully's vision got a little fuzzy. She gripped the table and shook her head, trying to make the dizziness go away. She had only eaten a small breakfast, consisting of a granola bar and some water. Now she really hoped that he wouldn't struggle.

"Are you feeling okay, Dana?" Malloy asked, sounding concerned. She could tell that he was faking it.

"Just a little dizzy. I didn't eat that much this morning," she explained.

"Oh, that's not it. It's the rohypnol that I put in your tea," he told her, as if that was a normal occurrence. He took the teacup out of her hands and placed it on the table.

She looked up at him, shocked.

"You put a 'date rape' drug in my tea?! I'm a federal agent! You do realize that, don't you?"

"I know you know that it's me. You came to be with me, didn't you? That's why you came alone."

Scully quickly pulled her gun out and aimed it at him.

"Put your hands on the table! You're under arrest. You have the right to-"

Malloy ripped the gun out of her weak hands. Scully stumbled forward, grabbing onto the table to prevent her from falling. Her world was spinning.

"Let's have none of that," he told her.

"Did you use rohypnol on your other victims?"

"Just you," she felt him whisper in her ear.

She tried to take a step back, but he grabbed her wrists forcefully.

"Where do you think you're going? I told you we would be together again."

"What do you want with me?" Scully asked, trying hard to keep the panic out of her voice.

"I just want you, Dana. We belong together. You understand that, right?"

"No. I-I don't even know you. You don't know me."

"I know you better than you think..."

That statement, and the way he said it, made her feel very uneasy. More so than even the fact that he had drugged her.

"My partner will be here any second," she warned him, stalling for time.

"I'm counting on it! I was disappointed when I didn't see him with you."

Fear filled Scully's heart.

"What do you mean?"

"Chevigny made a mistake that I will not make. I'm not going to hurt you, Dana. I'm going to kill _him_."

"No! Why?! He's- he's just my partner. There's no reason to hurt him."

"Then why do you care so much?" he asked harshly.

"He's my best friend! That's why I care! We're nothing more than friends!"

Scully hoped that she was convincing enough.

"Don't you lie to me!" he yelled at her, slapping her across the face.

Apparently not convincing enough. She thought she would try a new approach.

"Take me, then!" she begged. "We can leave now. Just please, don't hurt him."

"Too late for that now, Dana. I think I hear him at the door..."

Malloy pulled her over to the kitchen pantry. He opened the door and shoved her inside. He shut the door and pulled the table over in front of it, trapping her inside. Malloy was counting on her screams and calls for help to lure Agent Fox Mulder into his house. Into his trap.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Um... I'm not sure that everyone realizes that it's "poor Mulder" not "poor Scully"... The rest of the story was "poor Scully," I thought that I needed to beat Mulder up a bit! Hopefully this little chapter will clear that up!

* * *

Scully threw her body against the door. She could tell that something was blocking her way.

"Vance!" she yelled. "Let me out!"

She threw her body into the door again. Her shoulder was getting sore. Her throat hurt. She was feeling very dizzy.

"Let me out! Please!"

She could hear the scooting of the kitchen table. Suddenly, light filled the little pantry.

"Scully?!" Mulder's shocked voice spoke to her. "Are you okay?!"

Scully grabbed his jacket lapels and pulled him into the pantry with her.

"I'm okay. Malloy is here somewhere. He wants to kill _you_, not me!"

Mulder looked a bit taken aback at the new information.

"Why me?"

Before she could answer, a rope was wrapped tightly around Mulder's neck. Malloy pulled Mulder into the kitchen by the rope around his neck. Scully followed as well as she could, leaning against the wall for support.

"You think you're so smart?!" Malloy spat at him.

"No! Please! Stop!" Scully begged, trying to pry the rope away from Mulder's neck.

"Why should I stop?"

"You know why."

"I want to hear it from your lips."

"Because I love him! I will do anything to save his life! Anything!"

Vance keep his tight hold on the rope around Mulder's neck.

"Anything," Scully repeated. "Just, please, don't hurt him."

"Ah, Dana, you don't understand that what _I_ want is his lifeless body at my feet!"

"If you kill him, I will never love you!" she told him honestly (not that she would ever love him anyway). She was trying to use the only thing that she could use to get Malloy to stop. His imagination of the possibility that she could love him. "You would have a better chance if you let him go," she added the lie.

"You could learn to love me," he commented.

"I think that's something Chevigny told Leonie. I'm not Leonie! My name is Dana."

Mulder's lips were turning blue. Scully had to think fast. She quickly stepped forward, grabbing a large knife out of the knife rack. She backed up against the wall again. She put all of her weight into it, fighting to stay conscious.

"You don't want me dead, right? You would have to wait another hundred years for us to be together again..."

Malloy nodded.

"You just want us to be together? You have some sort of drive for that? To make things right?"

Malloy nodded again.

Scully turned the knife and pressed the sharp point into her own stomach. A sudden morbid thought crossed her mind. She was relieved that she went to medical school just for the fact that if she had to kill herself she would do so successfully. She knew how to pierce her lungs and heart so that she wouldn't live through the wound.

"Let him go," she ordered, "or you _will_ have to wait another hundred years."

Both men looked absolutely horrified at her new choice of action.

"If you kill him, I'll kill myself, and where would that leave us? To do this all over again in a hundred years?"

Scully could tell that Malloy had loosened up a bit on the choke-hold he had Mulder in. The color was returning to his lips.

"Okay," Malloy reluctantly agreed, letting go of the rope. "What do you want to do?"

Scully assessed the situation. Mulder had been brought to his knees. Malloy stood behind him.

"Let him go, and I'll go with you. You can take me anywhere you want."

"Scully..." Mulder tried to speak up, but it came out as a gasp.

"Hush, Mulder!"

Malloy kicked Mulder in the stomach to shut him up. Mulder slumped over, putting his forehead to the cool kitchen floor. He was just trying to breathe for the moment.

"What do you say, Vance? He's obviously not strong enough to follow us or call for help. Just take me wherever you want to go."

Malloy's gaze went from Scully to Mulder and back again.

"Ya know, I'm not sure about that. If we're going anywhere, we're taking him with us. I need insurance. To make sure that you behave yourself!"

"You don't need him! I'll be unconscious soon. You made sure of that. Just take me."

Scully glanced down at Mulder. He looked back up at her pitifully. She could see in his eyes that he hated that she was negotiating with this madman. She tried to let him know that she would do anything to save his life. She would negotiate with anyone- even the devil- to get her way at the moment.

Malloy was taking a longer time than Scully had expected to make up his mind. As each second went by it was getting harder and harder to remain conscious, much less lucid and able to speak properly. She slid down the wall to take a seat on the floor, still holding the knife in her hand. Sitting wasn't as tiring as standing. Standing was becoming almost impossible anyway.

Scully wondered if Malloy was just waiting for her to pass out so he could kill Mulder without her trying to kill herself. Though, she knew that he wanted her to watch him kill Mulder. He wouldn't do it if she was unconscious. That thought comforted her a bit. However, she was worried that the darkness would take over before Mulder could regain his strength. In that case, she was sure that Malloy would take the both of them out in the middle of nowhere, and, most likely, he would kill Mulder as soon as she regained consciousness. For that, she wished that consciousness would never come.

"Scully..." Mulder whispered. "Don't do this."

"I don't have a choice," she whispered back.

"Shut up!" Malloy said, frustrated, as he kicked Mulder again. "I'm sorry, Dana, but I have to take both of you. I can't just let him come after us for the rest of our lives."

"Va-Vance. You don't... need him. He can go away," Scully said, trying to make short sentences. She had no real argument left in her. She wasn't really sure if she made any sense. "We can go away. He won't come. Right, Fox?"

Mulder gave her an odd look at the fact that _now_ was when she used his first name. However, Scully only used 'Fox' because it was easier to say. One syllable. That was about all she could manage at the moment.

Malloy chuckled. "I'm going to go ahead and put him in the truck. I think that you'll be fine right where you are!"

Malloy struck Mulder in the head with something that looked like a bat, but Scully couldn't be sure. The sickening thud it made against his skull made her want to vomit. She was grateful that her vision was fuzzy. She knew that she wouldn't have handled the sight of Mulder being knocked-out well. She was pretty sure that, if she had the strength, she would have tried her best to stab Malloy in the throat with the knife that she still had firmly grasped in her hand.

Scully was left alone in the kitchen after Malloy carried a motionless Mulder through the back door. She could feel herself slipping. She fought to stand up. She waited patiently for Malloy to return. She gripped the knife as tightly as she could. She had decided to try her idea after all. She had only one chance. If she missed, it could mean the end of Mulder's life. And hers.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: SO super sorry about the long wait for the update! I've been a very busy aunt/free nanny to FOUR boys! Ages 10 months to 10 years.

The story is almost over! I can't believe it! I feel like I just started! I want to thank those of you who have stuck with me through this crazy story! When this is over I'll finally be able to finish my other story as well. So sad.

* * *

Scully heard a car door close and got ready to pounce as soon as Vance walked back through that kitchen door. She pushed herself against the wall, trying her best to stay hidden behind the open door. She heard the storm door swing open. She gripped the knife so hard that it was almost painful, but she was afraid that her drugged state would make the knife slip from her hand.

Vance came into view. Scully mustered all of her strong and lunged at him. He moved at the last moment, resulting in her only slashing the side of his neck instead of stabbing him. When she realized what happened it was too late. She feel herself being lifted into the air, and the next thing she felt was her small body crashing against the wall. Somehow she still held tightly to the knife.

"Dana, that was a very stupid mistake. I was going to kill him painlessly. But now I think that he should be forced to watch while we make love, and then I will slowly bleed him dry."

None of that sounded like much fun to her. Scully decided that either he or she would not be leaving in that van. She slowly pushed herself back to her feet and stood up.

Vance had an amused look on his face. "You think that you can fight me?" he asked, laughing at her.

Scully took a moment to look around. Nothing stood between her and the door to outside. She saw her escape and went for it. She pushed the door open and ran out into the fresh air.

"Hel-" she tried to yell, but was quickly tackled from behind.

Vance turned her over to face him. He was smart enough to kneel between her legs. Any shots to the balls would be more difficult now.

"I know what it takes to break girls like you, Dana," he told her calmly.

She quickly reached up and pressed the knife to his throat. Just as quickly, however, he backhanded her across the face. He grabbed the knife out of her hand and threw it across the backyard. Scully tried to scramble backwards, out from under him, but he grabbed her throat and held her in place. Her hands searched the ground for something, like a rock, to use as a weapon. No luck there. Then basic self-defense training came back to her. She punched him hard and upward in the nose and drove her knuckles into his throat. At the very least, the attack shocked him enough to let go. However, the choking noise he made and the blood flowing from his nose let her know that she had, in fact, injured him.

Scully quickly scooted away, pushed herself up, and headed for the van. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She looked around, grabbed a football-sized rock, and smashed in the window.

"Mulder!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath and wake him at the same time.

She reached through the window, unlocked the door, and pulled it open. She climbed inside and hovered over him.

"Mulder! Wake up!"

Her eyes darted around the yard. Vance had disappeared.

"Fuck fuck fuck..." she muttered to herself, climbing back out of the van.

She dropped to her hands and knees to look under the van. No Vance. She stood back up and spun a small circle. No Vance. _Where the fuck is he?_

"Mulder!" She kicked him in the leg. No response.

Scully was thankful that her adrenaline was keeping her conscious. As each minute passed, however, it was getting more difficult to will herself to stay awake. Again, she thought that Vance was hiding somewhere and waiting for her to pass out. She knew that she had to find him before that happened.

She spotted Mulder's gun in the van next to him. _Stupid Vance..._ she thought. She grabbed the gun and peaked around the van. She headed towards the house. If anything, she could at least call the sheriff to tell him who their murderer was and to ask for back-up.

As she got closer to the house, Vance came back out of the backdoor. He was carrying a shotgun. Scully aimed her gun and fired. Click. She fired again. Click. She looked at the gun, panicked and confused.

"No bullets, sweetie. Did you really think that I was that stupid?"

Scully backed away as Vance walked slowly towards her.

"Now, where were we? Oh, that's right, you were misbehaving. Now, Dana, I suggest that you start doing as I ask or I will blow his brains all over the inside of that van. Got it?" he said, his entire speech in an eerily calm voice.

Scully nodded, but her mind was searching for a way out.

"What do you want me to do?" she heard herself ask.

"Very good," he told her. "I would like for you to walk over to the van and close the door."

She did as she was told. Before she could close the door, however, she noticed that something was missing. Mulder. He had disappeared from the van. She quickly slammed the door shut before Vance could see inside the van for himself.

"Now move around to the passenger side and get in."

Scully kept doing as she was told, but her eyes scanned the yard for Mulder. She tried hard to contain her happiness and nerves. She knew that he was lurking around somewhere, waiting to attack. She just hoped that neither of them would get shot in the process.

***

Mulder regained consciousness in time to see Vance come back outside with a shotgun and Scully pointing a gun of her own at him. He quietly and quickly rolled out of the van and crept to the side of the house. He went back around to the front of the house and went back inside. He went straight to the phone and called the sheriff. He definitely needed back up.

The sheriff was shocked, but he agreed to come out with his men and an ambulance. Mulder told him to hurry and quickly hung up. Next he needed to find a weapon. His gun was missing. Eventually, after only a few seconds of a hurried search, he chose a baseball bat and a knife.

Mulder exited through the front of the house and ran back down the side of the house. He peaked around the corner to scope out the scene. Vance had Scully up against the passenger side of the van. Vance was telling her something. He wondered why Scully hadn't shot him. He figured that there was something wrong with the gun.

He kept low to the ground and crept towards them. Vance had his back to him, and Mulder put a finger to his lips in case Scully spotted him. If she did see him, she was doing a good job of not breaking eye contact with Vance. If she had, it would have given away Mulder's plan to sneak up behind him.

Once Mulder was close enough, he stood to his full height and swung the bat as hard as he could at Vance. Scully ducked. Mulder had finally gotten lucky, the bat made contact with Vance's head, either knocking him unconscious or killing him. All Mulder cared about was that Vance's motionless body was on the ground at his feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked Scully.

She nodded, staring at him like he had risen from the dead.

They heard the sirens of the police cars and were able to relax a bit. It was finally over. Mulder took Scully's hand and pulled her away from the van and the body of Vance Malloy. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. He only let her go when he felt her wince in pain.

"Wanna go on a hot date with me to the hospital? I think I may have a very sexy concussion..." he said, giving her a small smile.

"Why not? I feel like our romantic relationship started in a hospital anyways. Might as well celebrate it," she said, returning his smile. "Maybe we can get put in the same room. I just may have a broken rib or two."

"We're a mess, aren't we?"

"Yep."

"I have a question, how are you still conscious? Weren't you roofied?" he asked as they walked toward the ambulance.

Scully shrugged. "I think that my adrenaline helped. And the fact that I didn't drink all of the tea; therefore, I didn't take the full dose that he intended for me. I still feel very tired and dizzy, but I'm too happy to have you back in the land of consciousness to give in to those feelings."

"I bet you that as soon as you lay down in that ambulance you'll be out like a light bulb."

"Most likely," she agreed.

Mulder helped her climb into the ambulance before pulling himself up and in as well. The paramedics tried to protest, but the look that Mulder gave them shut them up very quickly. There was no way in hell that either of them would allow themselves to be separated from the other. At this point, death would be the only thing that could separate them, and they had overcome that today already. _Anything else_, Mulder thought, _bring it on!_


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: So... I must apologize. I haven't updated in FOREVER! It got warm out and I lost all ability to sit still indoors. Now it's too hot out to remain outside for extended periods of time. So... I'm back!

This story will finally be completed!

Tip of the Day: Remember, when life seems to suck, always be grateful that you're not pregnant while your baby-daddy got abducted by aliens.

* * *

Mulder sat at his desk doing paperwork. Well, he had paperwork on his desk, but he was mostly watching Scully. Scully was the one who was actually doing paperwork. After _that_ case there was a lot of paperwork to be done.

"Stop staring at me, Mulder," Scully said without looking up.

"I'm not staring..."

"Do your work, Mulder," she said, still keeping her eyes on her own work.

He sighed loudly. It was mainly to make her look up at him. It didn't work. So he got up from his desk and walked over to her area. This did work.

Scully looked up at him, let out an exasperated sigh, and said, "What?"

"Aren't you a bit curious to know what happened to Edouard?"

"A bit, but obviously you _do_ know and are going to tell me anyway so even if I were uninterested you would ramble away-"

"Me? Ramble?" he interrupted. "You're the one rambling, Scully."

She sighed. "Okay. I'm _very_ interested. Tell me so I can finish my work and go home."

Mulder stared at her for a second deciding whether or not to be offended. Scully noticed this and decided to add, "So _we_ can go to _your_ home."

A smile crept back to his lips. "Well," he began while grabbing some papers off of the shelf behind her, "Edouard came to the states shortly after burying his wife."

Mulder handed Scully the papers. They were copies of newspaper articles from the year 1897. She scanned them and looked back up at Mulder ready for him to continue.

"I think that he couldn't stand to be in France anymore. So, he came here to start his life anew. However, he continued his role as a police detective. As you can see from the papers, he was very successful."

"Did he ever marry again? Have children?" Scully asked, impatient for Mulder to get to that bit of his story.

"No. And no," he told her. "He actually didn't outlive Leonie for very long. Just six months later, he was accidentally killed in a shoot out. I'm guessing that he had those rings with him and that they were pawned after his death."

"It's such a sad story-"

"Yeah. It's our story, Scully! You still believe, right?" he interrupted her, afraid that she was going to go back on her word that she believed that Leonie and Edouard were their former lives- now that they were back to their normal (well, as normal as it could be for them) FBI lives.

Scully bent down and dug through her bag. Mulder thought that she was avoiding his question. And just before he repeated it for her, she sat back up and put Leonie's ring in the middle of her desk.

"Of course I believe it, Mulder," she said, looking up at him. "I have the proof sitting right here."

"And in here," he reminded her, tapping her on the forehead.

She swatted his hand away. "Yes, Mulder. I remember. It's not something that I'll forget anytime soon... if ever!"

"Just making sure..." he said, wandering back over to his desk. He leaned against it to watch her again. She kept her eyes on him as well. "Scully?" he began his questioning again.

"Yes?"

"Are you going to testify against Malloy?"

"Of course, Mulder! Why would you ask me that?"

"I guess that was my nice way of asking if you felt strong enough to testify against him..."

"_That_ was your nice way?" she rolled her eyes at him. "Well, to be honest," she added, "if you would have hit him harder then I probably wouldn't have to be testifying against him..."

"Scully!" Mulder exclaimed, thoroughly shocked.

"I'm just being honest about how I feel."

"You wish that I had killed a man?" he questioned, crossing his arms and looking at her with a doubtful expression.

"Let me put it this way: I think that Vance Malloy is _more_ evil than Donnie Pfaster. And, especially coming from me, _that's_ saying something! So, if we were short one more evil man in the world, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

Mulder was still shocked at this insight into the darkness that now invaded Scully's pretty little head. Though, he knew that this case had been extremely hard on her. Since they had been back in DC, which had only been a little over a week, she hadn't slept alone. She was always over at his, or he was at hers. Not that he was complaining. He just would have preferred that it be because she loved him, not because she was afraid. Mulder knew that the simple fact that Malloy was out there alive (even if it was behind bars) scared her. He now secretly wished that he had spent more time at the batting cages prior to their trip.

"I am sorry," he spoke up, suddenly finding his hands very interesting; however, he looked up to meet her eyes to add, "that I let him hurt you."

"Me?" Scully was the one who was shocked this time. "I'm sorry that I let him hurt _you_! Mulder, if anything really bad had happened to you, I could never have forgiven myself. I ignored your better judgment and left without you. I'm smarter than to pull something like that!"

"You are," he quickly agreed. "But I know that I've put you through the same thing several times. Maybe I deserved it. I just want us to now never do anything like that to each other ever again."

She smiled at him, knowing that he was letting her off easy. "I promise," she told him honestly.

"Good," he said, moving to sit back down in his chair behind his desk. "Now, you have paperwork to do so we can go home!"

"_I_ have paperwork to do...?" she said, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Okay. Okay. How about we make a deal?"

Scully leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "I'm listening..."

"How about we take all of this stuff to my place, order take-out, do stuff, and_ then _finish the paperwork? Together," Mulder said, standing up to grab his coat like he knew that she would say 'yes' to his plan.

"'Do stuff?' What kind of stuff?" she asked, not moving from her position.

"You know. The kind of stuff that two consenting adults who are in love with each other would normally do on a Friday night..." Mulder explained while he put his coat on and then grabbed hers.

"Uh-huh. Nice try, but we both know that no paperwork will get done once we leave this office."

"Scu-lly," Mulder groaned. "It's 7pm on a Friday. We're both hungry. Skinner isn't even here! Can we please leave?"

"I bet Skinner is here and would be very happy if we turned in _our_ reports tonight. They're already late as it is!" Scully reminded him, making a very valid point.

But Fox Mulder was a very smart man and was not going to let Scully use Skinner as an excuse. His eyes narrowed at her in a thoughtful glare. She just stared back with an expression that read 'beat that!' Mulder quickly picked up his phone and dialed a number. Scully's expression immediately changed to curiosity.

"Hey, Skinner, it's me again," Mulder said once the line picked up. There was a pause for Skinner to say something before he began his speech, "It's been a very tough week for Scully, and we just haven't been able to finish our reports. I think that it's been very painful for her to think about everything that happened-" there was another pause for Skinner to say something. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. See you Monday, sir."

Mulder hung up the phone and gave Scully a smug smile. He tossed her her coat. "C'mon. The Skinman said that we have until Tuesday to turn in our reports. He is very worried for your well-being, just as much as I am. He said for us to go home and don't come back until Monday!"

"Mulder! How can you lie-"

"A simple 'thank you' will do," he told her, pulling her up from her chair and helping her into her coat. "AND I didn't lie!" he added. "I think that you- _we_ need at least a day or two off."

Scully sighed. "Thanks, Mulder," she said quietly.

Mulder grabbed her bag and rushed to hold their office door open for her. Once through the door, he shut it firmly behind them and quickly locked it, as if he were telling her to not even think about going back into that office until Monday morning. Scully just smiled, shaking her head slightly at how goofy he was sometimes. They made their way to the elevator, and she looped her arm through his as they waited.

"So, about that 'consenting adult stuff'..." she teased his thoughts.

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Mulder hit the 'L' button and gave Scully a heart-melting smile. He bent down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Now we have all night and weekend for that 'stuff,'" he told her. "But I promise you one thing," he whispered in her ear.

"What's that?" she whispered back, her lips grazing his ear.

They both quickly pulled back as the elevator dinged it's arrival to the lobby, and they acted like good little FBI agents- nothing more than partners and friends- as they stepped into the lobby.

"I can guarantee that you won't have any thoughts of Malloy until Monday," he quietly told her as they walked to the doors and made it outside.

"How's that?" she asked.

Mulder slipped his hand around hers and pulled her quickly along. He pulled her around the corner and out of FBI territory. He pressed her hand to his lips and spun around to stand in front of her. He quickly pulled her into a deep, passionate kiss.

When they parted he answered her, "You'll be too busy thinking about what we're going to do next..."

Scully smiled up at him as she traced his lips with her thumb. "Do you know what I want to do now?" she asked, licking her lips.

Mulder was afraid that they wouldn't make it back to his car before he needed to sit down if Scully kept this up. "Well, _I_ know what_ I_ want to do, and I hope that it's the same thing..."

Scully smiled and kissed him quickly. "Eat!" she exclaimed, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

"_Not_ what I was thinking but the second best choice," Mulder admitted.

Scully laughed. "I know what _you_ want to do! I'll make you a deal." She spun to stand in front of him this time. "We'll do my activity now," she said, standing on her tip-toes and wrapping her arms around his neck. "And," she continued, "we'll do your activity next. As soon as we get back to your place."

"See, this is just one of the many reasons why I love you. Your ability to compromise!" he said and kissed her again.

Mulder took Scully's hand again, and they walked along together. They were finally together in the way that they were meant to be. Even though they had to go through the past and face evil (again) to get where they were supposed to be. Hopefully, they wouldn't screw it up this time!


End file.
